THE  UNIVERSITY 


OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 

'248 


The  person  charging  this  material  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  its  return  to  the  library  from 
which  it  was  withdrawn  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

Theft,  mutilation,  and  underlining  of  books 
are  reasons  for  disciplinary  action  and  may 
result  in  dismissal  from  the  University. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


mR  1  9 '973 


m  0  4 1994 


t  f 


4 


*■  'O’ 

4 


'  ( 


1 


■>; 


/ 


i 


'/ 


« 


*> 


/I 


t 


2.% 


m  Lmm 
...  Of  WE 
nmv’asijr  of  iiuoois 


Jt- 


ETvgt#Ted  ty  W.G.Aimsiiong. 


Thus  sailh  the  LOllD;  Behold,!  set  before  you  Uie  Way  of  Like. 

.Kit.  XXI  -  I 


Thy’w>rd  i»  al*ji\p  xnito  my  feet, and  alight  urvto  tny  path. 

?#  CXIX  106. 


it 


W" 


C 


* 


\ 


A 

'll 


;  t*  ' 

s 


3. 


THE 


WAY  OF  LIFE. 


WITH  AN 

Analytical  |jmdex. 


BY 

CHARLES  HODGE, 

PROFESSOR  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  PRINCETON,  N. 


WRITTEN  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION. 

THE  LIBfim  OF  THE 


NEW  EDITION. 


AUG  U-  1934 

V-NT 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


PHILADELPHIA: 

AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

«  No.  1122  Chestnut  Street. 


iVAJIF  YORK: 

Nos.  7, 8,  <&  10  Bible  House,  Astor  Place. 


r 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by  the 
AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Conrt  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 
- - - - 


f 


lUlL 


the  lIBRARlf  OF  THE 

AUG  8-  1934 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
PREFACE. 


It  is  one  of  the  clearest  principles  of  di- 
1  vine  revelation,  that  holiness  is  the  frnit  of 
■  truth;  and  it  is  one  of  the  plainest  inferences 
from  that  principle,  that  the  exhibition  of  the 
truth  is  the  best  means  of  promoting  holiness 
Christians  regard  the  word  of  God  as  the  only 
^  infallible  teacher  of  those  truths  which  relate 
to  the  salvation  of  men.  But  are  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  really  a  revelation  from  God?  If  they 
are,  what  doctrines  do  they  teach  ?  And  what 
influence  should  those  doctrines  exert  on  our 
heart  and  life  ? 


The  publishing  committee  of  the  American 
Sunday-school  Union  have  long  felt  the  want 


3 


4 


PREFACE 


of  a  book  which  should  give  a  p.ain  answer 
to  these  questions,  and  be  suitable  to  place  in 
the  hands  of  intelligent  and  educated  young 
persons,  either  to  arouse  their  attention,  or  to 
guide  their  steps  in  the  way  of  life. 

The  following  work  has  been  prepared  at 
the  request  of  the  committee,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  in  some  measure  answer  the  pur¬ 
pose  just  stated.  In  a  Christian  country  it 
might  seem  unnecessary  to  raise  the  question 
whether  the  Scriptures  are  the  word  of  God  ? 
But  those  who  have  had  much  intercourse 
with  young  men,  know  that  even  among  those 
who  have  been  religiously  educated,  there  is 
more  or  less  skepticism  upon  this  point ;  and 
where  there  is  no  absolute  skepticism,  there  is 
often  an  impression  that  the  evidence  of  the 
divine  origin  of  the  Bible  is  not  so  decisive  as 
it  might,  or  even  should  be.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  want  of  faith  is  seldom  felt  to  be  a  great 
sin.  It  was  therefore  deemed  important  that 
the  question,  Why  we  are  bound  to  believe 


PREFACE. 


5 


the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God?  should  be 
distinctly,  though  briefly,  answered. 

The  still  more  comprehensive  question. 
What  do  the  Scriptures  teach?  is  of  course 
here  considered  only  in  reference  to  those  great 
practical  doctrines  which  are  essential  to  evan¬ 
gelical  religion,  viz. :  the  doctrines  of  sin,  jus¬ 
tification,  faith,  repentance,  and  holy  living. 

With  regard  to  the  influence  which  these 
doctrines  should  exert  upon  the  heart  and  life, 
or,  in  other  words,  with  regard  to  religious  expe¬ 
rience,  reference  might  be  made  to  the  nume¬ 
rous  records  of  the  exercises  of  the  people  of 
God,  or  to  what  we  see  daily  in  his  church 
As,  however,  the  Scriptures  themselves  not 
only  teach  us  what  the  truth  is,  but  also  how 
It  operates  upon  an  enlightened  conscience 
and  believing  heart,  our  safest  appeal  is  to 
them.  It  is  there  that  we  can  best  learn  how 
we  ought  to  feel  and  act  in  view  of  what  the 

Bible  teaches  us  of  sin,  of  justification,  faith, 

I* 


6 


PREFACE. 


and  repentance ;  since  genuine  religious  expe¬ 
rience  is  simply  the  accordance  of  our  views 
and  feelings  with  the  truth  of  God. 

If  this  little  book  should  be  instrumeniai, 
by  the  simple  exhibition  of  the  truth,  of  pomt- 
ing  out  the  way  op  life  to  those  who  are 
anxious  to  know  what  they  must  believe  and 
what  they  must  experience  in  order  to  be 
saved,  it  will  answer  the  design  of  it*',  prepa 
ration  and  publication. 


CONTENT  S. 


Page 

Chap.  I. — The  Scriptures  are  the  Word  of  God. 

Sec.  I. — The  internal  evidence  of  the  divine  origin 

of  the  Scriptures .  9 

Sec,  II. — The  internal  evidence  of  their  divine  ori¬ 
gin  is  the  proper  ground  of  faith  in  the 

Scriptures .  2*4 

Sec.  III. — External  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  testimony  of  the 

Church .  31 

Sec.  IV. — The  argument  from  prophecy .  36 

Chap.  II. — Sin. 

Sec.  I. — All  men  are  sinners.  The  nature  of  man, 

since  the  fall,  is  depraved . . .  53 

Sec.  II. — The  sins  of  men  are  numerous  and  aggra¬ 
vated  . 62 

Chap.  III. — Causes  of  Indifference  to  the 
Charge  of  Sin. 

Sec.  I. — Sin,  want  of  consideration,  striving  against 


the  Spirit .  80 

Sec.  II. — Sophistical  objections  against  the  doctrine 

of  the  Bible .  85 


Chap.  IV. — Conviction  of  Sin. 

Sec.  I. — Knowledge  of  sin.  Sense  of  personal  ill- 

desert .  106 

Sec.  II. — Insufficiency  of  our  own  righteousness  and 

of  our  own  strength .  23 


7 


8 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


Chap.  V. — Justification. 

Sec.  I. — Importance  of  the  doctrine.  Explanation 
of  the  Scriptural  terms  relating  to  it.  Jus¬ 
tification  is  not  by  works .  IS.** 

Sec.  II. — The  demands  of  the  law  are  satisfied  by 

what  Christ  has  done .  151 

Sec.  III. — The  righteousness  of  Christ  the  true 
ground  of  our  justification.  The  practi¬ 
cal  effect  of  the  doctrine .  17f 


Chap.  VI. — Faith, 

Sec.  I. — Faith  necessary  in  order  to  salvation.  The 


nature  of  saving  faith .  .  191 

Sec.  II. — Faith  as  connected  with  Justification. . . .  208 

Chap.  VII. — Repentance .  219 

Chap.  VIII. — Profession  of  Religion. 


Sec.  I. — The  nature  and  necessity  of  a  public  pro¬ 


fession  of  religion .  24.* 

Sec.  II. — Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  Supper.  The  na¬ 
ture,  design,  and  efficacy  of  these  ordi¬ 
nances .  255 

Sec.  III. — Obligation  to  attend  upon  the  sacraments. 

Qualifications  for  the  proper  discharge  of 
the  duty .  276 

Chap.  IX. — Holy  Living. 

Sec.  I. — The  nature  of  true  religion. . . . . .  293 

Sec.  II. — The  means  of  sanctification... . 319 


THE  WAY  OF  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SCRIPTURES  ARE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

Section  I.  The  Internal  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of 
the  Scriptures. 

It  often  happens  that  those  who  hear  the  gospel, 
doubt  whether  it  is  really  the  word  of  God.  Hav¬ 
ing  been  taught  from  infancy  to  regard  it  as  a  divine 
revelation,  and  knowing  no  sufficient  reason  for 
rejecting  it,  they  yield  a  general  assent  to  its  claims. 
There  are  times,  however,  when  they  would  gladly 
be  more  fully  assured  that  the  Bible  is  not  a  cun¬ 
ningly  devised  fable.  They  think  if  that  point  was 
absolutely  certain,  they  would  at  once  submit  to  all 
the  gospel  requires. 

Such  doubts  do  not  arise  from  any  deficiency  in 

9 


10 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


( 


the  eviaence  of  the  divine  authority  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  ,  nor  would  they  be  removed  by  any  increase 
of  that  evidence.  They  have  their  origin  in  the 
state  of  the  heart.  The  mo^  important  of  all  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  can  never  be  properly 
appreciated  unless  the  heart  be  right  in  the  sight  of 
God.  The  same  exhibition  of  truth  which  pro¬ 
duces  unwavering  conviction  in  one  mind,  leaves 
another  in  a  state  of  doubt  or  unbelief.  And  the 
same  mind  often  passes  rapidly,  though  rationally, 
from  a  state  of  scepticism  to  that  of  faith,  without 
any  change  in  the  mere  external  evidence  presented 
to  it. 

No  amount  of  mere  external  evidence  can  pro* 
duce  genuine  faith.  The  Israelites,  who  had  seen 
a  long  succession  of  wonders  in  the  land  of  Egypt ; 
who  had  passed  through  the  divided  waters  of  the 
Red  Sea ;  who  were  daily  receiving  by  miracle  food 
from  heaven ;  who  had  trembled  at  the  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  the  divine  majesty  on  Mount  Sinai ;  within 
sight  of  that  mountain,  made  a  golden  calf  their 
God.  The  men,  who  saw  the  miracles  of  Christ 
performed  almost  daily  in  their  presence,  cried  out, 
jCrucify  him,  crucify  him.  Hence  our  Saviour  said, 
that  those  who  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets 
would  not  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the 
^ead.  We  may  confidently  conclude,  therefore,  that 
those  who  now  believe  not  the  gospel,  would  not 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


11 


be  persuaded  had  they  seen  all  the  miracles  which 
Christ  performed. 

It  is  important  that  the  attention  of  the  doubting 
should  be  directed  to  the  fact  that  their  want  of 
faith  is  to  be  attributed  to  their  own  moral  state, 
and  not  to  any  deficiency  in  the  evidence  of  the 
truth.  If  our  gospel  be  hid,  says  the  apostle,  it  is 
hid  to  them  that  are  lost ;  in  whom  the  god  of  this 
world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe 
not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ, 

.  should  shine  unto  them. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  doctrine  here  stated,  out 
of  analogy  with  our  daily  experience.  No  truth 
can  be  properly  apprehended  unless  there  is  a  har¬ 
mony  between  it  and  the  mind  to  which  it  is  pre¬ 
sented.  Even  abstract  or  speculative  truths  are 
not  seen  to  be  true,  unless  the  understanding  be 
duly  cultivated  to  apprehend  them.  With  regard 
to  objects  of  taste,  unless  there  is  a  power  to  per¬ 
ceive  the  correspondence  between  them  and  the 
standard  of  beauty,  there  can  be  no  appreciation  of 
their  excellence.  And  still  moie  obviously  in  re¬ 
gard  to  moral  and  religious  truth,  there  must  be  a 
state  of  mind  suited  to  their  apprehension.  If  our 
moral  sense  were  entirely  destroyed  by  sin,  we 
’,ould  have  no  perception  of  moral  distinctions  ;  if 
■t  is  vitiated,  what  is  true  in  itself  and  true  in  the 
view  of  the  pure  in  heart,  will  not  be  true  to  ns 


12 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


A.  man,  who  has  no  adequate  sense  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  cannot  believe  in  the  justice  of  God.  If  yc 
awaken  his  c^nsc^ience,  Im  i^  convince^  ^  one 
without  the  inte^venti^  of  any  process  of  proof. 


No  one  can  fail  to  remark  that  the  Bible  demands 
immediate  and  implicit  faith  from  all  who  read  it 
It  may  lie  neglected  in  the  study  of  the  philosopher, 
or  in  the  chest  of  the  outcast  sailor ;  or  it  may  be 
given  by  a  missionary  yet  ignorant  of  the  language 
of  the  heathen  to  whom  he  ministers.  The  moment, 
however,  it  is  opened,  in  these  or  any  other  cir¬ 
cumstances,  it  utters  the  same  calm  voice,  He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life ;  he  that 
believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.  If  this  demand  was 
confined  to  the  educated,  we  might  suppose  it  to 
rest  on  evidence  which  the  educated  only  are  able 
to  appreciate  ;  or  if  it  was  made  of  those  only  to 
whom  the  scriptures  are  presented  by  regularly 
commissioned  ministers,  we  might  suppose  it  rested 
on  their  authority  ;  but  it  is  not  thus  confined.  It 
is  inseparable  from  the  word  itself.  It  is  as  im¬ 
perative  when  the  Bible  is  read  by  a  child  to  a 
company  of  pagans,  as  when  it  is  proclaimed  in  a 
cathedral.  But  if  this  demand  of  faith  goes  with 
the  word  wherever  it  goes,  it  must  rest  upon  evi 
dence  contained  in  the  word  itself.  The  demand 
of  faith  cannot  be  more  extensive,  than  the  exhibi- 


THE  WORE  OF  GOD. 


13 


tion  of  evidence.  Unless,  therefore,  we  restrict 
the  obligation  and  the  benefits  of  faith  to  these  who 
are  capable  of  appreciating  the  external  evidence 
of  the  Bible,  we  must  admit  that  it  contains  its  own 
evidence. 

To  make  the  testimony  of  others  to  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  the  ground  of  faith,  is  inadmissible 
for  two  obvious  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  as 
already  intimated,  it  is  not  sufficiently  extensive. 
The  obligation  to  believe  rests  on  multitudes  to 
.whom  that  testimony  is  not  addressed.  In  the 
second  place,  it  is  entirely  inadequate.  The  great 
mass  of  men  cannot  be  required  to  believe  on  the 
testimony  of  the  learned  few,  a  religion  which  is 
to  control  their  conduct  in  this  world  and  to  decide 
their  destiny  in  the  next.  Besides,  learned  men 
testify  in  behalf  of  the  Koran  as  well  as  in  favour 
of  the  Bible.  That,  therefore,  cannot  be  an  ade¬ 
quate  ground  of  faith,  which  may  be  urged  in  sup¬ 
port  of  error  as  well  as  of  truth.  To  require  the 
common  people  to  be  able  to  see  why  the  testimony 
of  learned  Christians  may  safely  be  relied  upon, 
while  that  of  learned  Mussulmans  should  be  re¬ 
jected,  is  to  require  of  them  a  task  as  severe  as 
the  examination  of  the  historical  evidences  of 
Christianity.  There  is,  therefore,  no  way  of  justi¬ 
fying  the  universal,  immediate  and  authoritative  de¬ 
mand,  which  the  Bible  makes  on  our  faith,  except 

2 


14  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

by  admitting  that  it  contains  within  itself  the  proofs 
of  its  divine  origin. 

It  may  not  be  easy,  or  perhaps  possible,  to  give 
any  adequate  exhibition  of  the  nature  of  this  proof 
to  those  who  profess  not  to  see  it.  Enough  how¬ 
ever  may  be  said  to  show  that  it  is  a  rational  and 
adequate  ground  for  implicit  confidence.  Every 
work  bears  the  impress  of  its  maker.  Even  among 
men  it  is  hard  for  one  man  successfully  to  counter¬ 
feit  the  work  of  another.  Is  i^  wonderful  then 
that  the  works  of  God  should  bear  the  inimitable 
impress  of  their  author  ?  Do  not  the  heavens  de¬ 
clare  his  glory  ?  Does  not  the  mechanism  of  an 
insect  as  clearly  evince  the  workmanship  of  God? 
Why  then  should  it  be  deemed  incredible  that  his 
word  should  contain  inherent  evidence  of  its  divine 
origin  ?  If  the  Bible  be  the  work  of  God,  it  must 
contain  the  impress  of  his  character,  and  thereby 
evince  itself  to  be  divine. 

It  may  be  objected  that  we  are  not  competent  to 
judge  of  this  evidence.  If  it  requires  so  much 
cultivation  of  the  intellect  to  judge  of  the  excel¬ 
lence  of  human  productions,  and  so  accurate  an 
acquaintance  with  the  character  of  their  authors,  in 
order  to  decide  on  the  genuineness  of  such  produc¬ 
tions,  who  can  pretend  to  a  knowledge  of  God 
which  shall  enable  him  to  judge  what  is,  or  wjiat  is 
not  worthy  of  his  hand  ?  This  would  be  a  fatal 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD 


15 


objection  if  the  internal  evidence  of  the  scriptures 
consisted  in  their  intellectual  excellence.  It  loses 
its  force  however  when  it  is  remembered  that  this 
excellence  is,  in  a  great  measure,  moral,  and  that 
goodness  carries  with  it  its  own  evidence.  To  appre¬ 
ciate  evidence  of  this  kind  requires  no  great  degree 
of  knowledge  or  refinement.  It  requires  merely  right 
moral  feelings.  Where  these  exist,  the  evidence 
that  goodness  is  goodness  is  immediate  and  irre¬ 
sistible.  It  is  not  because  the  Bible  is  written  with 
•more  than  human  skill,  and  that  its  discrimination  of 
character  or  its  eloquence  is  beyond  the  powers  of 
man,  that  we  believe  it  to  be  divine.  These  are 
matters  of  which  the  mass  of  men  are  incompetent 
judges.  The  evidence  in  question  is  suited  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  humblest  child  of  God.  It  is 
partly  negative  and  partly  positive.  It  consists,  in 
the  first  place,  in  the  absence  of  every  thing  in¬ 
compatible  with  a  divine  origin.  There  is  nothing 
inconsistent  with  reason,  and  there  is  nothing 

contain  any  thing  contrary  to  reason  or  to  right  L 
moral  feeling,  belief  in  its  divine  origin  wmuld  be  ! 
impossible.  Such  a  belief  would  involve  the 
ascription  of  folly  or  sin  to  its  author.  There  is 
more  in  this  negative  evidence  than  we  are  apt  to 
imagine.  It  can  not  be  urged  in  behalf  of  any 
other  book  but  the  Bible,  claiming  a  divine  origin. 


inconsistent  with  goodness.  Did  the  scriptur 


16 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


An  impassable  gulf  is  thus  placed  between  the 
scriptures  and  all  apocryphal  writings.  The  claims 
of  the  latter  are  in  every  instance  disproved  by  the 
fact  that  they  contain  statements  which  cannot  be 
true. 

It  is  however  the  positive  internal  evidence  of 
a  divine  origin,  which  gives  power  and  authority  to 
the  claims  of  the  Bible.  This  evidence  consists 
mainly  in  its  perfect  holiness,  in  the  correspondence 
between  all  its  statements  respecting  God,  man, 
redemption  and  a  future  state,  and  all  our  own 
right  judgments,  reasonable  apprehensions  and  per¬ 
sonal  experience.  When  the  mind  is  enlightened 
to  see  this  holiness  ;  when  it  perceives  how  exactly 
the  rule  of  duty  prescribed  in  the  word  of  God 
agrees  with  that  enforced  by  conscience ;  how  the 
account  which  it  gives  of  human  nature  coincides 
with  human  experience ;  how  fully  it  meets  our 
whole  case ;  when  it  feels  how  powerfully  the 
truths  there  presented  operate  to  purify,  console 
and  sustain  the  soul,  the  belief  of  the  scriptures  is 
a  necessary  consequence.  The  idea  that  such  a 
book  is  a  lie  and  a  forgery  involves  a  contradiction. 
The  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  it  cannot 
refuse  its  assent  to  evidence,  when  clearly  per¬ 
ceived.  We  cannot  withhold  our  confidence  from 
a  man  whose  moral  excellence  is  plainly,  variously 
and  constantly  manifested.  We  cannot  see  and 


THE  Vi  DKD  OF  COD. 


17 


feel  his  goodness,  and  yet  believe  him  to  be  an 
impostor  or  deceivei.  In  like  manner,  we  cannot 
see  the  excellence  of  the  scriptures,  and  yet  believe 
them  to  be  one  enormous  falsehood.  The  Bible 
claims  to  be  the  word  of  God;  it  speaks  in  his 
name,  it  assumes  his  authority.  How  can  these 
claims  be  false  and  yet  the  Bible  be  so  Holy  ?  How 
can  falsehood  be  an  element  of  perfect  excellence  ? 
The  only  possible  way  of  shaking  our  confidence 
in  the  competent  testimony  of  a  man,  is  to  show 
'  that  hb  is  not  a  good  man.  If  his  goodness  is  ad¬ 
mitted,  confidence  in  his  word  cannot  be  withheld, 
and  especially  when  all  he  says  finds  its  confirma¬ 
tion  in  our  own  experience,  and  commends  itself 
to  our  conscience  and  judgment.  Thus  also  it  is 
impossible  that  we  should  discern  the  excellence 
of  the  scriptures  and  feel  their  correspondence  with 
our  experience  and  necessities,  and  yet  suppose 
them  to  be  untrue. 

When  the  woman  of  Samaria  reported  to  hei 
townsmen  that  Jesus  had  told  her  all  that  ever  she 
did,  many  of  them  believed.  But  after  they  had 
themselves  listened  to  his  instructions,  they  said  to 
the  woman.  Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy 
saying,  for  we  have  heaid  him  ourselves,  and  know 
that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world. ^  No  Christian  can  be  surprised  at  this  de- 

•  John  iv :  43. 

2« 


18 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


claration,  or  think  the  faith  in  Christ  founded  upon 
what  he  said,  either  irrational  or  enthusiastic.  We 
can  well  believe  that  there  was  such  an  ineffable 
manifestation  of  goodness  in  the  Redeemer’s  coun¬ 
tenance,  manner  and  doctrines,  as  to  conciliate  entire 
confidence.  Those  who  were  rightly  affected  could 
imt  fail  to  believe  all  he  said ;  that  he  was  the 
Christ,  that  he  came  to  seek  and  save  them  that  ^ 
lost,  to  lay  down  his  life  for  1^  sheep  and  to  give 
himself  a  ransom  for  many.  Can  we  doubt  that  the 
goodness  of  the  Saviour,  the  elevation,  holiness 
and  power  of  his  instructions,  their  correspondence 
with  our  own  nature,  experience  and  wants,  would 
of  themselves  constitute  an  adequate  ground  of 
faith?  All  this  we  have.  This  every  man  has, 
who  reads  the  Bible.  There  the  Saviour  stands  in 
the  majesty  of  unapproachable  excellence.  He 
utters  in  every  hearing  ear  the  words  of  eternal 
life ;  declares  his  origin,  his  mission,  the  design  of 
his  advent  and  death ;  offers  pardon  and  eternal  life 
to  those  who  come  unto  God  through  him.  There 
is  the  most  perfect  accordance  between  his  claims 
and  his  conduct ;  between  his  doctrines  and  what 
we  know  and  what  we  need.  To  disbelieve  him,  is 
to  believe  him  to  be  a  deceiver,  and  to  believe  this, 
is  to  disbelieve  our  own  perceptions  ;  for  we  know 
what  goodness  is,  and  we  know  that  goodness 
cannot  deceive,  that  God  cannot  lie. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


19 


It  makes  very  little  difference  as  to  the  force  of 
this  kind  of  evidence,  whether  we  personally  saw 
and  heard  the  Saviour  for  ourselves,  or  wliether  we 
read  the  exhibition  of  his  character  and  the  record 
of  his  instructions.  For  the  evidence  lies  in  his 
goodness  and  in  the  nature  of  his  doctrines.  It  is 
the  same  to  us  who  read  the  Bible,  as  it  was  to 
those  that  heard  the  Saviour.  There  is  therefore 
the  same  violence  done  to  reason  and  duty,  in  our 
rejecting  it,  as  was  offered  by  those  who  believed 
.not  because  they  were  not  of  his  sheep,  that  is, 
because  they  were  insensible  to  the  constraining 
influence  of  the  grace  and  truth  which  were  in 
Him.  Does  then  any  one  ask,  how  we  know  that  the 
Bible  is  not  a  forgery  ?  Let  him  consider  what 
such  an  assumption  involves.  It  supposes  either 
that  the  authors  of  the  Bible  were  fools,  which  we 
can  no  more  believe  than  that  Newton  was  an  idiot ; 
or  that  they  were  wicked,  which  no  man  can  believe 
who  knows  what  goodness  is.  Wherever,  there¬ 
fore,  the  Bible  goes,  it  carries  with  it  evidence,  that 
•is  irresistible,  (when  attended  to  and  apppreciated,) 
that  its  authors  were  neither  dupes  nor  deceivers. 

It  may  be  asked.  If  the  Bible  contains  such  clear 
evidence  of  its  divine  origin,  why  are  there  so  many 
unbelievers  ?  To  this  it  may  be  answered,  that 
there  are  two  things  necessary  in  older  that  evi¬ 
dence  should  produce  cop^'^iction.  The  first  is  that 


20 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


It  should  be  attended  to  ;  otherwise  it  might  as  well 
not  exist.  Of  the  many  mdlions  of  people  in 
Christendom,  comparatively  few  give  the  Scriptures 
any  serious  attention.  That  such  persons  should 
have  no  effective  faith,  is  no  more  a  matter  of  sui 
prise  than  that  they  should  be  ignorant  of  what  they 
never  learned.  The  second  requisite  for  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  evidence,  is  that  it  should  be  understood  or 
really  apprehended.  If  this  evidence  is  addressed  to 
the  understanding,  there  must  be  strength  of  mind 
enough  to  comprehend  its  nature  and  bearing ;  if 
addressed  to  the  moral  faculty,  there  must  be  moral 
sensibility  to  appreciate  it,  or  it  will  be  like  light 
shining  on  the  eyes  of  the  blind.  The  internal 
evidence  of  the  scriptures  is  in  a  great  measure  of 
this  latter  kind.  It  consists  in  their  perfect  holi¬ 
ness.  In  proportion  as  men  are  corrupt,  they  are 
blind  to  this  kind  of  evidence.  It  may  exist  in  all 
its  force,  and  men  be  insensible  to  it.  Another 
part  of  this  evidence  consists  in  the  accordance 
between  the  scriptures  and  the  religious  experience 
of  men.  Those  who  have  not  the  experience,  can¬ 
not  see  this  accordance.  Still  another  portion  of 
the  evidence  is  made  available  by  the  power  of  God 
in  subduing  sin,  in  purifying  the  affections,  in 
diffusing  peace  and  joy  through  the  heart.  Those 
who  have  never  felt  this  power  cannot  appreciate 
this  kind  of  proof.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  so 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


21 


large  a  proportion  of  mankind  have  no  adequate 
faith  in  th<:  Scriptures,  aflbrds  no  presumption 
against  the  -existence  of  sufficient  evidence.  This 
fact  is  in  exact  accordance  with  what  the  Bible 
teaches  of  the  moral  state  of  man. 

Another  objection  to  the  view  of  the  ground  of 
taith  given  above,  is  that  it  leads  to  enthusiasm,  and 

breaks  down  the  distinction  between  true  and  false 

•  _ 

religion.  Every  enthusiast,  it  is  said,  thinks  he 
sees  wonderful  excellence  in  the  pretended  revela- 
'tions  which  he  embraces.  It  is  a  sufficient  answer 
to  this  objection  to  ask,  whether  the  scholar  has 
less  faith  in  the  excellence  of  the  great  standards  of 
poetry,  because  the  writers  of  doggerel  rhymes  have 
had  their  admirers  ?  That  the  sensual,  selfish  and 
cruel  character  of  Mohammed  appears  good  in  the 
eyes  of  a  Turk,  does  not  prove  him  to  be  an  enthu¬ 
siast  who  bows  with  reverence  before  the  supreme 
excellence  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  the  pagan  world 
saw  evidence  of  the  existence  of  their  gods  in  the 
heavens  and  in  the  course  of  nature,  does  not  make 
him  an  enthusiast,  who  recognizes  in  the  works  of 
God  the  manifestations  of  infinite  power,  wisdom 
and  goodness.  It  is  most  unreasonable  to  assume 
that  we  must  not  feel  the  force  of  truth  and  excel¬ 
lence,  because  others  have  ascribed  these  attributes 
to  error  and  vice.  It  is  not  according  to  the  con- 
Btitutioy  of  our  nature  that  one  man  should  cease  to 


22 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


know  a  thing  to  be  true  or  good,  because  other?;  do 
not  see  it.  The  evidence  is  complete  for  him, 
though  all  the  world  reject  it. 

If  it  is  asked,  where  the  standard  is  ;  what 
criterion  of  excellence  exists  by  which  I  am  au¬ 
thorized  to  decide  that  what  I  call  goodness  is 
really  such  ;  the  rule  is  given  in  the  nature  of 
man.  We  know  that  benevolence  is  better  than 
malice,  veracity  than  deceit,  humility  than  pride, 
and  by  the  same  rule  we  know  that  Christianity  is 
better  than  Hindooism,  and  the  blessed  Redeemer 
than  the  Arabian  impostor.  No  judgment  can  be 
more  sure  than  this,  no  persuasion  more  intimate, 
no  confidence  either  more  firm  or  more  rational.  It 
is,  therefore,  no  objection  against  admitting  the  ex¬ 
cellence  of  the  Scriptures  to  be  a  proof  of  their 
divine  origin,  that  besotted  or  deluded  men  have 
ascribed  excellence  to  folly  and  wickedness. 


Section  II.  T/te  internal  evidence  of  their  divine  origin 
is  the  proper  ground  of  faith  in  the  Scriptures. 

The  Scriptures  themseives  clearly  teach  that  the 
faith  which  they  demand  is  founded  upon  the  au¬ 
thority  of  God,  manifesting  itself  in  them  by  the 
excellence  and  power  of  the  truth  which  they  con¬ 
tain.  They  everywhere  represent  faith  as  the 
effect  and  evidence  of  right  moral  feeling,  and  un- 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


23 


belief  as  the  result  of  moral  or  spiritual  blindness. 
Our  Saviour  said  to  the  Jews,  If  any  man  will  do 
his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it 
be  of  God.*  Affain,  He  that  is  of  God,  heareth 
God’s  words ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not  because 
yc  are  not  of  God.t  On  another  occasion  he  said. 
Ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep; 
my  sheep  hear  my  voice. J  The  apostle  speaks  to 
the  same  effect.  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ 
'is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  of  God.  We  are  of  God. 
He  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us  ;  he  that  is  not 
of  God  heareth  not  us.  Hereby  we  know  the 
spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error. §  In  like 
manner  Paul  says.  The  natural  man  receiveth  not 
the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  they  are  fool¬ 
ishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them  be¬ 
cause  they  are  spiritually  discerned. [|  And  again, 
If  our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost; 
in  whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the 
eyes  of  them  that  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the 
*  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God, 
should  shine  unto  them.  But  God,  who  commanded 
the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our 
nearts  to  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory 


*  John  vii.  17.  -j-  John  viii.  47.  i  John  x.  2G,  27. 

§  1  J  )hn  iv.  2,  3.  HI  Cor.  ii.  14. 


24 


THF  SCRIPTURES, 


of  Goa  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.*  The  doctrine 
taught  in  these  and  similar  passages,  is  that  there 
is  in  the  word  of  God  and  especially  in  the  person 
and  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  clear  and  wonderful 
manifestation  of  the  divine  glory.  To  this  mani¬ 
festation  the  natural  man  is  blind,  and  therefore 
does  not  believe,  but  those  who  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  discern  this  glory  and  therefore  believe. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  this  view  that  unbelief 
is  represented  as  so  grave  a  moral  offence,  and 
faith  as  so  important  a  duty.  Atheism  is  every 
where  regarded  as  a  crime,  because  the  evidences 
of  the  existence  of  God  are  everywhere  present, 
above  us,  around  us  and  withinjis.  They  are  ad 
dressed  to  the  moral  constitution,  as  well  as  to  th& 
speculative  understanding.  They  cannot  be  resisted 
without  the  same  violence  to  moral  obligations,  or 
the  authority  of  moral  considerations,  that  is  involved 
in  calling  virtue  vice,  and  vice  virtue.  Hence  the 
Scriptures  always  speak  of  unbelief  as  a  sin  against 
God,  and  the  special  ground  of  the  condemnation  of 
the  world.  He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not  con¬ 
demned,  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  ol 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.t  Who  is  a  liar, 
but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ?  He 


•  2  Cor.  iv.  3 — i 


t  John  iii.  18. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


25 


4S  anti-Christ,  that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son 
Whosoever  denieth  the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the 
Father.-^  Disbelief  of  the  Son  as  revealed  in  the 
Scriptures,  is  an  offence  of  the  same  nature  as  the 
denial  of  God.  In  both  cases  supreme  excellence 
is  revealed  and  disregarded.  Much  to  the  same 
effect  the  Saviour  says.  He  that  hateth  me,  hateth 
my  Father  also.t  On  the  other  hand,  faith  is  re¬ 
presented  as  the  highest  act  of  obedience,  as  a 
moral  act  of  the  greatest  worth  in  the  sight  of  God. 
Whosoever  believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born 
of  God.;}:  As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave 
he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  as 
many  as  believed  on  his  name.§  And  our  Saviour 
told  the  enquiring  Jews,  This  is  the  work  of  God, 
that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath  sent.||  These 
representations  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  as¬ 
sumption  that  faith  is  founded  on  external  testimony, 
which  does  not  address  itself  to  our  moral  nature, 
and  an  assent  to  which  has  so  little  concern  with 
moral  character.  All  is  plain,  however,  if  we  arc 
required  to  believe  in  the  Son  because  his  glory  as 
of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father  is  presented  to 
us  ;  and  to  receive  the  Scriptures  because  they  bear 
the  impress  of  the  divine  perfections.  If  this  be 

*  I  John  ii.  22,  23.  f  John  xv.  23.  i  1  John  v.  1. 

§  John  i.  12.  H  John  vi.  29. 


3 


26 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


the  ground  of  faith,  unbelief  is  indeed  a  crime.  It 
IS  a  refusal  to  recognise  wisdom  and  holiness,  and 
to  acknowledge  the  manifested  excellence  of  God. 

This  view  of  the  ground  of  faith  is  confirmed  by 
the  effects  ascribed  to  that  grace.  It  works  by 
love,  it  purifies  the  heart,  it  overcomes  the  world, 
it  produces  peace  and  joy.  It  is  indeed  conceiva 
ble  that  the  conviction  of  truths  affecting  our  inte¬ 
rests,  however  produced,  should  call  forth  fear, 
sorrow  or  joy  according  to  their  nature.  But  it  is 
not  conceivable  that  belief  of  moral  or  religious 
truths,  founded  upon  the  testimony  of  others,  should 
control  our  affections.  A  man  may  believe  on  au¬ 
thority,  or  on  merely  rational  grounds,  that  we  are 
under  a  moral  government,  and  that  the  law  by 
which  we  are  bound  is  holy,  just  and  good,  but 
such  a  faith  will  not  subdue  his  opposition.  He 
may  be,  by  argument  or  miracle,  convinced  of  the 
existence  of  God,  but  such  a  faith  will  not  pro¬ 
duce  love.  Faith  therefore  cannot  have  the  effects 
ascribed  to  it,  unless  it  is  founded  on  a  spiritual 
appreliension  of  the  truths  believed. 

Hence  it  is  that  faith  is  represented  as  the  gift  of 
God.  The  evidence  indeed  is  presented  to  all,  or 
there  would  be  no  obligation  to  believe;  but  men 
are  morally  blind,  and  therefore  the  eyes  of  their 
understanding  must  be  opened  that  they  may  un¬ 
derstand  the  things  which  are  freely  given  to  them 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


27 


of  God.  The  apostle  therefore  says  to  his  be¬ 
lieving  brethren,  Ye  have  an  unction  from  the 
Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all  things.  I  have  not 
written  unto  you,  because  ye  know  not  the  truth, 
but  because  ye  know  it,  and  that  no  lie  is  of  the 
truth.  The  anointing  which  ye  have  received  of 
him  abide th  in  you,  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man 
teach  you  :  but  as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you 
of  all  things,  and  is  truth,  and  is  no  lie,  and  even  as 
it  hath  taught  you,  ye  shall  abide  in  him.^  It  is 
here  taught,  as  in  other  passages  already  quoted, 
that  believers  are  the  recipients  of  an  influence,  an 
unction,  from  the  Holy  One,  which  convinces  them 
of  the  truth,  and  makes  them  see  and  know  that  it 
is  truth.  Hence  Paul  says,  his  preaching  was  not 
with  the  enticing  words  of  man’s  wisdom,  but  in 
the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power  ;  that 
the  faith  of  his  hearers  might  not  stand  in  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God ;  that  is, 
that  their  faith  might  not  be  the  eflect  of  skilful 
reasoning,  but  of  the  spiritual  perception  and  expe¬ 
rience  of  the  truth. 

All  this  is  confirmed  by  the  constant  practice  of 
the  inspired  teachers.  Though  they  appealed  to 
all  kiids  of  evidence  in  support  of  the  doctrines 
whicl  they  taught,  to  signs  and  wonders,  and 


*  1  John  ii.  20,  21,  27. 


28 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


divers  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  ye 
iliey  by  no  means  rested  the  obligation  to  believe 
either  exclusively  or  mainly  upon  these  external 
signs.  In  many  cases  faith  was  demanded  by 
those  inspired  men  who  never  wrought  miracles 
of  any  kind,  as  was  the  fact  in  the  case  of  some 
of  the  prophets ;  and  still  more  frequently  it  was 
required  of  those  among  whom  no  such  wonders 
had  been  performed.  When  the  Jews  demanded  a 
sign  and  the  Greeks  wisdom,  the  apostles  preached 
Christ,  and  him  crucified,  as  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  Their  con¬ 
stant  endeavour  was  by  the  manifestation  of  the 
truth  to  commend  themselves  to  every  man’s  con¬ 
science  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  if  their  gospel 
was  hid,  it  was  hid  to  them  that  are  lost. 

It  is,  therefore,  plainly  the  doctrine  of  the  scrip¬ 
tures  themselves,  that  the  word  of  God  is  to  be 
believed  because  of  the  authority  or  command  of 
God  manifesting  itself  therein,  in  a  manner  analo¬ 
gous  to  the  exhibition  of  his  perfections  in  the 
works  of  nature.  If,  as  Paul  teaches  us,  the  eternal 
power  and  godhead  are  so  clearly  manifested  by 
the  things  that  are  made,  that  even  the  heathen  are 
without  excuse ;  and  if  their  unbelief  is  ascribed 
not  to  the  wan‘  of  evidence,  but  to  their  not  liking 
to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge ;  we  need  not 
wonder  that  the  far  clearer  manifestation  of  the 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


29 


divine  perfections  made  in  the  scripture,  should  be 
the  ground  of  a  more  imperative  command  to 
lieve. 

It  is  the  experience  of  true  Christians  in  all 

I 

ages  and  nations  that  their  faith  is  founded  on  the 
spiritual  apprehension  and  experience  of  the  power 
of  the  truth.  There  are  multitudes  of  such  Chris¬ 
tians,  who,  if  asked  why  they  believe  the  scriptures 
’  to  be  the  word  of  God,  might  find  it  difficult  to 
give  an  answer,  whose  faith  is  nevertheless  both 
strong  and  rational.  They  are  conscious  of  its 
grounds  though  they  may  not  be  able  to  state  them. 
They  have  the  witness  in  themselves,  and  know 
that  they  believe,  not  because  others  believe,  or  be¬ 
cause  learned  men  have  proved  certain  facts  which 
establish  the  truth  of  Chy^istianity.  They  believe 
in  Christ  for  the  same  reason  that  they  believe  in 
God ;  and  they  believe  in  God  because  they  see 
his  glory  and  feel  Ws  authority  and  power. 

If  then  the  truth  of  God  contains  in  its  owm 
nature  a  revelation  of  divine  excellence,  the  sin  of 
unbelief  is  a  very  great  sin.  Not  to  have  faith  in 
God,  when  clearly  revealed,  is  the  highest  offence 
which  a  creature  can  commit  against  its  creator 
To  refuse  credence  to  the  testimony  of  God,  when 
conveyed  in  the  manner  best  adapted  to  our  nature, 
is  to  renounce  our  allegiance  to  our  creator.  'Fo  dis¬ 
regard  the  evidence  of  truth  and  excellence  in  Jesus 

3  * 


30 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


Christ,  is  the  highest  indignity  that  we  can  show 
to  truth  and  excellence.  This  sin  is  common,  and 
therefore  is  commonly  disregarded.  Men  do  not 
easily  see  the  turpitude  of  evils  with  which  they 
are  themselves  chargeable.  The  faults  of  those 
who  go  beyond  them  in  iniquity  they  are  quick  to 
discern.  And  therefore  the  man  who  feels  no  com¬ 
punction  at  want  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  will 
abhor  him  who  pronounces  the  Redeemer  a  wicked 
impostor.  He  will  wait  for  no  explanation  and  will 
listen  to  no  excuse.  The  mere  fact  that  a  man, 
acquainted  with  the  Scriptures,  is  capable  of  such 
a  judgment  respecting  the  Son  of  God,  is  proof  of 
depravity  which  nothing  can  gainsay.  Yet  how 
little  difference  is  there  between  the  state  of  mind 
which  would  admit  of  such  a  judgment,  and  the 
state  in  which  those  are  who  have  no  faith  in 
the  declarations  of  Christ;  who  disregard  his 
promises  and  warnings  ;  who  do  not  feel  them  to 
be  true,  and  therefore  treat  them  as  fables.  The 
want  of  faith  therefore  of  which  men  think  so 
lightly,  will  be  found  the  most  unreasonable  and  per¬ 
haps  the  most  aggravated  of  all  their  sins.  It  im¬ 
plies  an  insensibility  to  the  highest  kind  of  evidence, 
and  involves  the  rejection  of  the  greatest  gift  which 
God  has  ever  offered  to  man,  pardon,  holiness,  and 
eternal  life. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


31 


Section  III.  External  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of 
*.he  Scriptures.  The  Testimony  of  the  Church. 

As  God  has  left  the  heathen  to  the  unauthenti- 
;ated  revelation  of  himself  in  his  works,  and  holds 
them  responsible  for  their  unbelief,  so  he  might 
have  left  us  to  the  simple  revelation  of  himself  in 
his  word.  He  has  been  pleased,  however,  to  con¬ 
firm  that  word  by  external  proofs  of  the  most  con¬ 
vincing  character,  so  that  we  are  entirely  without 
excuse.  . 

The  testimony  of  the  church  is  of  itself  an  un¬ 
answerable  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
The  validity  of  this  testimony  does  not  depentl 
upon  the  assumed  infallibility  of  any  class  of  men. 
It  is  merely  the  testimony  of  an  innumerable  body 
of  witnesses,  under  circumstances  which  preclude 
the  idea  of  delusion  nor  deception.  For  the  sake  of 
illustration  take  any  particular  branch  of  Christ’s 
church,  as  for  example  the  Lutheran.  It  now  exists 
in  Europe  and  America.  It  every  where  possesses 
‘.he  same  version  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  same 
confession  of  faith.  Its  testimony  is,  that  it  owes 
its  existence  as  an  organized  body,  to  Luther ;  to 
whom  it  ascribes  the  translation  of  the  Bible,  and 
under  whose  auspices  it  professes  to  have  received 
the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  is  clearly  impossible 
that  these  documents  could,  during  the  present 


32 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


centuiy,  have  been  palmed  upon  these  scattered 
millions  of  men.  They  all  bear  testimony  that 
tney  received  them  as  they  now  are  from  the  hands 
of  their  fathers.  As  to  this  point,  neither  delusion 
nor  deception  is  conceivable.  In  the  eighteenth 
century  we  find  this  church  scarcely  less  numerous 
than  it  is  at  present.  It  bore  the  same  testimony 
then,  that  it  does  now.  With  one  voice  it  de¬ 
clared  that  their  fathers  possessed  before  them  the 
standards  of  their  faith.  This  testimony  is  repeated 
again  in  the  seventeenth,  and  again  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  till  we  come  to  the  age  of  Luther.  This 
testimony,  conclusive  in  itself,  is  confirmed  by  all 
kinds  of  collateral  evidence.  Every  thing  in  the 
style,  doctrines  and  historical  references  of  the 
standards  of  the  Lutheran  church,  agrees  with  the 
age  to  which  they  are  referred.  The  influence  of 
a  society  holding  those  doctrines  is  traceable 
through  the  whole  of  the  intervening  period.  The 
wars,  the  treaties,  the  literary  and  religious  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  period,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
received  their  character  from  that  S»Dciety.  Much 
therefore  as  men  may  differ  as  to  Luther’s  character, 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  conduct  or  the  truth  of  his 
doctrines,  no  sane  man  has  ever  questioned  the  fact 
that  he  lived,  that  he  translated  the  Scriptures,  that 
he  organized  a  new  church,  and  gave  his  followers 
tlie  Augsburg  confession. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


33 


The  same  series  of  remarks  might  be  made  h 
reference  to  the  church  of  England.  That  extended 
and  powerful  body  has  her  thirty-nine  articles, 
her  liturgy,  arid  her  homilies,  which  she  testifies 
she  received  from  the  Reformers.  This  testimony 
cannot  be  doubted.  At  no  period  of  her  history 
could  that  church  either  deceive  or  have  been  de¬ 
ceived,  as  to  that  point.  Her  testimony  moreover 
is  confirmed  by  all  collateral  circumstances.  The 
liturgy,  articles  and  homilies  are  in  every  respect 
consistent  with  their  reputed  origin ;  and  the  whole 
history  of  England  during  that  period  is  interwoven 
with  the  history  of  that  church.  The  consequence 
is,  no  man  doubts  that  the  English  reformers  lived, 
or  that  they  framed  the  standards  of  doctrine  and 
worship  universally  ascribed  to  them. 

This  argument  when  applied  to  the  whole  Chris¬ 
tian  church  is  no  less  conclusive.  This  church 
now  exists  in  every  quarter  of  the  glohe,  and  em¬ 
braces  many  millions  of  disciples.  Every  where 
it  has  the  same  records  of  its  faith;  it  is  every 
where  an  organized  society  with  religious  officers 
and  ordinances.  It  every  \^here  testifies  that  these 
records  and  institutions  were  received  Irom  Christ 
and  his  apostles.  That  this  vast  society  did  not 
begin  to  exist  during  the  present  century,  is  as 
evident  as  that  the  world  was  not  just  made.  It  is 
uo  less  plain  that  it  did  not  begin  to  exist  in  the 


S4 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


eighteenth,  the  seventeenth,  the  sixteenth,  nor  in 
any  othei  century  subsequent  to  the  first  in  our 
era.  In  each  succeeding  century,  vve  find  millions 
of  men,  thousands  of  churches  and  ministers  uniting 
their  testimony  to  the  fact  that  they  received  their 
sacred  writings  and  institutions  from  their  prede¬ 
cessors,  until  we  come  to  the  age  of  Christ  himself. 
Did  the  origin  of  the  church  run  back  beyond  the 
limits  of  authentic  history,  so  as  to  leave  a  gap  be¬ 
tween  its  reputed  founder  and  its  ascertained  ex¬ 
istence,  this  argument  would  fail ;  an  essential  link 
would  be  wanting,  and  the  whole  extended  chain 
would  fall  to  the  ground.  But  as  this  is  not  the 
case,  its  testimony  touching  the  historical  facts  of  its 
origin,  is  irresistible  as  that  of  the  church  of  Eng¬ 
land  respecting  the  origin  of  its  articles  and  liturgy. 
The  Christian  church  is  traced  up  to  the  time  of 
Christ  by  a  mass  of  evidence  which  cannot  be  re¬ 
sisted;  so  that  to  deny  that  Christ  lived,  and  that 
the  church  received  from  his  followers  the  sacred 
writings,  is  not  merely  to  reject  the  testimony  of 
thousands  of  competent  witnesses,  but  to  deny  facts 
which  are  essential  to  account  for  the  subsequeni 
history  and  the  existing  state  of  the  world.  A 
man  might  as  well  profess  to  believe  in  the  foliage 
of  a  tree,  but  not  in  its  branches  and  stem. 

This  testimony  of  the  ctiurch  as  to  the  facts  on 
which  Christianity  is  founded,  is  confirmed  by  al. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD 


35 


kinds  of  collateral  evidence.  The  language  in 
*vhich  the  New  Testament  is  written  is  precisely 
that  which  belonged  to  the  time  and  place  of  its 
origin.  It  is  the  language  of  Jews  speaking  Greek 
and  in  its  peculiarities  belonged  to  no  other  age  oi 
people.  All  the  historical  allusions  are  consistent 
with  the  known  state  of  the  world  at  that  time. 
The  history  of  the  world  since  the  advent  of  Christ 
pre-supposes  the  facts  recorded  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  It  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  religion  taught 
Dy  a  few  poor  men  in  Judea,  has  changed  the  state 
of  a  large  part  of  the  world.  Paganism  has  dis¬ 
appeared,  a  new  religion  been  introduced ;  laws, 
customs,  institutions  and  manners  become  prevalent, 
and  they  all  rest  upon  the  facts  to  which  the  church 
bears  her  testimony. 

Beyond  all  this,  the  internal  character  of  the 
scriptures  is  worthy  of  the  origin  ascribed  to  them  ; 
a  character  which  gives  the  only  adequate  solution 
of  the  revolution  which  they  have  effected.  When 
God  said.  Let  there  be  light,  there  was  light.  And 
when  Jesus  Christ  said,  I  am  the  light  of  the 
woild,  the  light  shone.  We  cannot  doubt  that  it  is 
aght ;  neither  can  we  doubt  when  it  arose,  for  all 
before  was  darkness. 

This  testimony  of  the  church,  thus  confirmed  by 
all  internal  and  external  proofs,  establishes  the  fact 
that  Christ  lived  and  died,  that  he  founded  the 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


Christian  church,  and  that  the  New  Testament  was 
received  from  his  immediate  followers.  But  tnese 
facts  involve  the  truth  of  the  gospel  as  a  revelation 
from  God,  unless  we  suppose  that  Christ  and  his 
apostles  were  deceivers.  The  evidence  against  this 
latter  assumption  is  as  strong  as  the  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  the  sun.  The  blind,  if  they  please, 
may  deny  that  the  sun  exists,  and  none  but  the 
morally  blind  can  resist  the  evidence  which  the 
New  Testament  affords  of  the  moral  excellence 
and  intellectual  sobriety  of  the  sacred  writers.  If 
they  were  trustworthy  men,  men  who  we  are  to 
believe  spoke  the  truth,  then  they  actually  possessed 
and  exercised  the  miraculous  powers  to  which  they 
laid  claim.  To  these  powers  Christ  and  his  apos¬ 
tles  appealed  as  an  unanswerable  proof  of  their 
divine  mission  ;  and  we  cannot  reject  their  testi 
mony  without  denying  their  integrity. 

Section  IV.  The  argument  from  Prophecy. 

The  Sixme  course  of  argument  which  proves  that 
the  version  of  the  scriptures  and  the  Augsburg  con¬ 
fession  in  the  possession  of  the  Lutheran  church : 
that  the  articles,  liturgy  and  homilies  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  ot  the  church  of  England  ;  that  the  New 
Testament  in  the  possession  of  the  whole  Chris¬ 
tian  world,  were  derived  from  the  sources  to  which 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


37 


they  are  se\ orally  referred,  proves  with  e^ual  force 
that  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  pos¬ 
session  of  the  Jews  are  the  productions  of  the 
ancient  prophets.  Jews  and  Christians  now  Imve 
them.  They  had  them  a  century  ago ;  they  had 
them  in  the  time  of  Christ.  They  were  then  uni¬ 
versally  acknowledged  by  the  Israelites  in  Judea 
and  elsewhere.  They  can  be  historically  traced 
up  centuries  before  the  advent  of  Christ.  Three 
hundred  years  before  that  event,  they  were  translated 
'  into  the  Greek  language  and  widely  disseminated. 
They  contain  the  history,  laws,  and  literature  of 
the  people  of  Judea,  whose  existence  and  peculiari¬ 
ties  are  as  well  ascertained  as  those  of  any  people 
in  the  world.  These  writings  are  essential  to 
account  for  the  known  character  of  that  people,  foi 
it  was  in  virtue  of  these  sacred  books  that  they  were 
what  they  were.  Critics  have  indeed  disputed 
about  the  particular  dates  of  some  of  these  produc¬ 
tions,  but  no  one  has  had  the  hardihood  to  deny 
that  they  existed  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
This  being  admitted,  we  have  a  basis  for  anothei 
argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  which  can 
not  be  resisted.  * 

In  these  ancient  writings,  preserved  in  the  hands 
of  the  open  enemies  of  Christ,  we  find  the  advent 
of  a  deliverer  clearly  predicted.  Immediately  after 
the  apostasy,  it  was  foretold  that  the  seed  of  tho 

4 


39 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


woman  should  bruise  the  serpent’s  head.  This 
prediction  is  the  germ  of  all  the  subsequent  pro 
phecies,  which  do  but  reveal  its  manifold  meaning. 
Who  the  promised  seed  was  to  be,  and  how  the 
power  o^*  evil  was  by  him  to  be  destroyed,  latei 
predictions  gradually  revealed.  It  was  first  made 
known  that  the  Redeemer  should  belong  to  the  race 
of  Shem.^  Then  that  he  should  be  of  the  seed 
of  Abraham,  to  whom  the  promise  was  made ;  Ir 
thee  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ;1 
then  that  he  should  be  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  of 
whom  it  was  foretold  that.  The  sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah,  or  a  law-giver  from  between 
his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come,  and  to  him  shall  be 
the  gathering  of  the  people. J  Subsequently  it  was 
revealed  that  he  was  to  be  of  the  lineage  of  David ; 
There  shall  come  forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesse,  and  a  branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots, 
and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the 
spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of 
knowledge  and  thr*.  fear  of  the  Lord.§ 

It  was  foretold  that  his  advent  should  be  pre¬ 
ceded  by  that  of  a  special  messenger.  Behold  1 
send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way 
before  me ;  and  the  Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  sud- 


*  Gen.  ix.  26. 
i  Gen.  xlix.  10. 


•j-  Gen.  xviii.  18. 
§  Is.  xi.  I,  Q. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


39 


denly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the  messenger  of 
the  covenant  whom  ye  delight  in,  behold  he  shall 
come  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. ^  The  time,  the 
manner,  and  the  place  of  his  birth  were  all  pre¬ 
dicted.  As  to  the  time,  Daniel  said.  Know  there¬ 
fore  and  understand  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the 
commandment  to  build  and  restore  Jerusalem  unto 
Messiah  the  prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks  and  three 
score  and  two  weeks.!  As  to  the  miraculous  man¬ 
ner  of  his  birth,  Isaiah  said.  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel.^  As  to  the  place,  Micah  said.  But  thou 
Bethlehem  Ephratah  though  thou  be  little  among 
the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  come 
forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel. § 

This  deliverer  was  to  be  a  poor  man.  Behold, 
0  daughter  of  Zion,  thy  king  cometh  unto  thee, 
poor,  riding  upon  an  ass  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass.[| 
He  was  to  be  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief,  despised  and  rejected  of  men,^  and  yet  Im¬ 
manuel,  God  with  us,^^  Jehovah  our  righteous- 
ness,tt  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God, 
The  everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace,!! 

•  Mai.  iii.  1.  f  Daniel  ix.  25.  i  Isaiah  vii.  14. 

§  Micah  V.  2.  |!  Zech.  ix.  9.  f  Is.  53. 

••  Is.  vii.  14.  ff  Jer.  xxiii.  6.  Is.  ix.  6. 


40 


/HE  SCRIPTURES, 


whose  goings  forth  were  of  old,  from  the  days  of 
eternity.* 

The  Redeemer  thus  predicted  was  to  appear  in 
the  character  of  a  prophet  or  divine  teacher.  The 
Ivord  thy  God,  said  Moses,  will  raise  up  unto  thee 
a  prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren, 
like  unto  me,  unto  him  shall  ye  hearken.t  Behold 
my  servant  whom  I  uphold,  mine  elect  in  whom 
my  soul  delighteth,  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him, 
he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  unto  the  Gentiles. J 
The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because 
he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto 
the  meek ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken 
hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the 
opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound. §  In 
that  day  shall  the  deaf  hear  the  words  of  the  book, 
the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  see  out  of  obscurity  and 
out  of  darkness ;  the  meek  also  shall  increase 
their  joy  in  the  Lord,  and  the  poor  among  men 
shall  rejoice  in  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. [| 

He  was  also  to  be  a  priest.  The  Lord  hath 
sworn  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  for- 
ever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.^  He  shall 
build  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  bear 


•  Mich.  V.  2. 
4  le.  Ixi.  1 


t  Is.  xlii.  1. 
Ps.  cx.  4. 


j-  Deut.  xviii.  15. 
fl  Is  xxix.  18,  19. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


41 


the  glory,  and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his 
throne,  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon  his  throne.* 
The  regal  character  of  this  Redeemer  is  set  forth 
in  almost  every  page  of  the  prophetic  writings.  ] 
have  anointed,  (said  God  in  reference  to  the  Mes- 
sis.h,)  my  king  on  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.t  Thy 
throne  O  God  is  forever  and  ever ;  the  sceptre  of 
thy  kingdom,  is  a  sceptre  of  righteousness.  Thou 
lovest  righteousness  and  hatest  wickedness,  there¬ 
fore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil 
•of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. ij:  Unto  us  a  child  is 
born,  and  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and  the  govern 
ment  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder.  Of  the  increase 
of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end, 
upon  the  throne  of  David  and  upon  his  kingdom  to 
order  it,  and  to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  jus¬ 
tice  from  henceforth  even  for  ever.§ 

The  characteristics  of  this  kingdom  of  the  Mes¬ 
siah  were  also  clearly  predicted.  They  were  to  be 
a  spiritual,  in  distinction  from  the  extemal  and  cere¬ 
monial  character  of  the  former  dispensation 
hj)ld  the  days  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I 
will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel 
and  with  the  house  of  Judah,  not  according  to  the 
cov<'nant  which  I  made  with  their  fathers,  &c. 


*  Zech.  vi.  13. 
t  Ps.  xlv.  6,  7. 


4* 


j*  Ps.  ii.  6. 

§  Is.  ix.  fi,  7 


12 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


Will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts  and  write  it 
in  their  hearts,  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they 
shall  be  my  people.'^  Hence  the  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  so  constantly  mentioned  as  attending 
the  advent  of  the  promised  Redeemer.  In  that  day 
I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  and  your 
sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  &;c.t 
Again,  this  kingdom  was  not  to  be  confined  to 
the  Jews,  but  was  to  include  all  the  world.  As 
early  as  in  the  book  of  Genesis  it  was  declared  that 
the  obedience  of  all  nations  should  be  yielded  to 
Shiloh,  and  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should 
be  blessed  in  Abraham  and  his  seed.  God  promised 
the  Messiah  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance  and  the 
utmost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.^  It 
shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  said  Isaiah,  that 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house  shall  be  establish¬ 
ed  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
jnto  it.§  It  is  a  light  thing,  said  God,  that  thou 
shouldst  be  my  servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of 
Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel,  I  will 
also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou 
mayest  be  my  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. f) 
In  that  dav  there  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  which 


*  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  32.  Joel  ii.  28. 

§  Is.  ii.  2.  II  Is.  xlix.  6. 


1:  Ps.  ii.  8. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


43 


shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people,  and  to  it 
shall  the  Gentiles  seek.^  I  saw  in  the  night  visions, 
said  Daniel,  and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man 
came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him ;  and  there  was  given  to  him  dominion  and 
glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations  and 
languages  should  serve  him  ;  his  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion  which  shall  not  pass  a^y, 
and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  de^royed.1 
Its  progress  however  was  to  be  gradual.  The 
stone  cut  out  of  the  mountains,  without  hands,  was 
to  break  in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the 
silver  and  the  gold,  i.  e.  all  other  kingdoms,  and 
become  a  great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  ^rth.j: 

Though  the  prophets  describe  in  such  strong 
language  the  excellence,  glory  and  triumph  of  this 
Redeemer,  they  did  not  the  less  distinctly  predict 
his  rejection,  sufferings  and  death.  Lord  who  hath 
believed  our  report,  and  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of 
the  Lord  been  revealed.  For  he  shall  grow  up 
before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a 
dry  ground  ;  he  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men 
vve  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him,  he  was 
despised  and  we  esteemed  him  not.§  To  hinp  whom 


*  Is.  xi.  10. 

+  Dan.  ii.  45. 


f  Dan.  vii.  13,  14. 
§  Is.  liii. 


44 


FHE  SCRIPTURES, 


man  despiseth,  to  him  whom  the  nation  abhorreth 
to  a  servant  of  rulers,  kings  shall  see  and  arise, 
and  princes  also  shall  worship.*  The  people  whom 
he  came  to  redeem,  it  was  foretold,  would  not  only 
reject  him,  but  betray  and  sell  him  for  thirty  pieces 
of  silver.  If  ye  think  good,  give  my  price,  and  il 
not,  forbear.  So  they  weighed  for  my  price  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me 
Cast  it  unto  the  potter,  the  goodly  price  at  which 
I  was  prized  at  of  them.t  He  was  to  be  grievously 
persecuted  and  put  to  death.  He  was,  said  the 
prophet,  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment  (cut 
off  by  an  oppressive  judgment)  and  who  shall  de¬ 
clare  his  generation ;  for  he  was  cut  off  from  the 
land  of  the  living  ;  for  the  transgression  of  my 
people  was  he  stricken.  And  he  made  his  grave 
with  the  wicked  and  with  the  ricli  in  his  death. J 
Even  the  manner  and  circumstances  of  his  death 
were  minutely  foretold.  The  assembly  of  the 
wicked  enclose  me  ;  they  pierce  my  hands  and  my 
feet.  They  part  my  garments  among  them  and 
cast  lots  upon  my  vesture. §  He  was  not  however 
to  continue  under  the  powmr  of  death.  Thou  will 
not  leave  mv  soul  in  hell ;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer 
thy  holy  one  to  see  corruption. [| 

*  Is.  xlix.  7.  f  Zech  xi.  12.  t  Is-  lih.  8,  9. 

§  Ps.  xxii.  16,  18.  B  Ps.  xvi.  10,  11. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


45 


The  consequences  of  the  rejection  of  the  Mes¬ 
siah  to  the  Jewish  people  were  also  predicted  with 
great  distinctness.  The  children  of  Israel,  it  is 
said,  shall  abide  many  days  without  a  king,  without 
a  prince,  and  without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  an 


image,  and  without  teraphim.  Afterwards  shall 
the  children  of  Israel  return  and  seek  the  Lord  and 
his  goodness  in  the  latter  days."^  Though  the 
number  of  the  children  of  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of 
the  sea,  a  remnant  shall  be  saved.!  Of  the  rebel¬ 
lious  portion  of  the  nation  it  was  said,  I  will 
scatter  them  among  all  people,  from  one  end  of  the 
earth  to  the  other,  and  among  those  nations  shalt 
thou  find  no  ease,  neither  shall  the  soul  of  thy  foot 
have  rest ;  .  .  .  And  thou  shalt  become  an  aston¬ 

ishment  and  proverb,  and  a  by-word  among  all 
nations,  whither  the  Lord  shall  lead  thee.J  Though 
thus  scattered  and  afflicted,  they  were  not  to  be 
utterly  destroyed,  for  God  promised  saying.  When 
they  are  in  the  land  of  their  enemies  I  will  not 
cast  them  away,  neither  will  I  abhor  them  to 
destroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break  my  covenan 
with  them,  for  I  am  the  Lord  their  God.§  It  was 
moreover  predicted  that  after  a  long  dispersion  they 
should  be  brought  to  acknowledge  their  crucified 


*  Hos.  iii.  4,  5. 

^  Deut.  xxviii.  66. 


!  Is.  X.  22,  23. 

§  Lev.  xxvi.  44. 


46 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


king.  1  will  po  ir  upon  the  house  of  David  and 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of 
grace  and  supplications,  and  they  shall  look  upon 
me  whom  they  have  pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn 
for  him,  as  one  mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and 
shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him,  as  one  is  in  bitterness 
for  his  first-born.*  This  same  prophet  foretold  that 
after  the  people  had  rejected  and  betrayed  the  good 
shepherd,  they  should  be  given  up  to  the  oppression 
of  their  enemies,  the  greater  portion  should  be  de¬ 
stroyed,  but  the  residue,  after  long  suffering  should 
be  restored.! 

This  representation  of  the  prophecies  of  the 
Jewish  Scriptures,  respecting  Christ  and  his  king¬ 
dom,  is  in  the  highest  degree  inadequate.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  give  a  full  exhibition  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  without  unfolding  the  whole  Old  Testament 
economy.  It  is  not  in  detached  predictions  merely, 
that  the  former  dispensation  was  prophetic.  In  its 
main  design  it  was  prefigurative  and  preparatory. 
It  had  indeed  its  immediate  purpose  to  answer,  in 
preserving  the  Israelites  a  distinct  people,  in  sus¬ 
taining  the  true  religion,  and  in  exhibiting  the 
divine  perfections  in  his  government  of  the  church. 
But  all  this  was  subordinate  to  its  grand  purpose  of 
preparing  that  people  and  the  world  for  the  advent 


*  Zech.  xii.  10. 


f  Zech.  xiii.  7,  9 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


47 


of  Christ,  and  to  be  a  shadowy  representation  of 
the  glories  of  the  new  dispensation,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  affording  an  object  of  faith  and  hope  to 
those  then  living,  and  that  the  new  economy  might 
be  better  understood,  more  firmly  believed  and 
more  extensively  embraced.  Detaphed  passages 
from  such  a  scheme  of  history  and  prophecy  are 
like  the  scattered  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple.  To 
form  a  just  judgment  the  plan  must  be  viewed  as  a 
,  whole  as  well  as  in  its  details.  It  could  then  be 
seen  that  the  history  of  the  Jews  was  the  history 
of  the  lineage  of  Christ;  the  whole  sacrificial  ritual 
a  prefiguration  of  the  Lamb  of  God  who  was  to 
beaTThe  sin  of  the  wwld ;  that  the  tabernacle  and 
the  temple,  with  their  complicated  services,  were 
types  of  things  spiritual  and  heaw^ly ;  that  the 
prophets,  who  were  the  teachers  and  correctors  of 
the  people,  were  sent,  not  merely  nor  principally  to 
foretell  temporal  deliverances,  but  mainly  to  keep 
the  eyes  of  the  people  directed  upward  and  onward 
to  the  great  deliverer  and  to  the  final  redemption. 
Detached  passages  can  give  no  adequate  conception 
of  this  stupendous  scheme  of  preparation  and  pro¬ 
phecy,  running  through  thousands  of  years,  and 
its  thousand  lines  all  tending  to  one  common  cen¬ 
tre, — the  CROSS  OF  Christ. 

The  argument  from  prophecy  in  support  of  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  therefore,  can  be  appreciated 


48 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


by  those  only  who  will  candidly  study  the  whole 
system.  Still  enough  has  been  presented  to  show 
that  it  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  correspon¬ 
dence  between  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  and  the  events  recorded  in  the  New,  upon  any 
other  assumption  than  that  of  divine  inspiration. 
We  have  seen  that  it  was  predicted,  centuries  before 
the  advent  of  Christ,  that  a  great  deliverer  should 
arise,  to  be  born  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  of  the 
family  of  David,  and  at  the  village  of  Bethlehem  ; 
that  he  should  be  a  poor  and  humble  man  and  yet 
worthy  of  the  highest  reverence  paid  to  God  ;  that 
he  should  be  a  teacher,  priest  and  king  ;  that  he 
should  be  rejected  by  his  own  people,  persecuted 
and  put  to  death ;  that  he  should  rise  again  from 
the  dead ;  that  the  Spirit  of  God  should  be  poured 
out  upon  his  followers,  giving  them  holiness,  wis¬ 
dom  and  courage  ;  that  true  religion,  no  longer  con¬ 
fined  to  the  Jews,  should  be  extended  to  the  Gen¬ 
tiles  and  in  despite  of  all  opposition  should  con¬ 
tinue,  triumph  and  ultimately  cover  the  earth : 
that  the  Jews  who  rejected  the  Messiah,  should  be 
cast  off  and  scattered  and  yet  preserved ;  like  a 
river  in  the  ocean,  divided  but  not  dissipated,  a 
standing  miracle,  a  fact  without  a  parallel  or  analo¬ 
gy.  Here  then  is  the  whole  history  of  Christ  and 
his  kingdom,  written  centuries  before  his  advent. 
A  history  full  of  apparent  inconsistencies  ;  a  history 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


49 


not  written  in  one  age  or  by  one  man,  but  in  dif¬ 
ferent  ages  and  by  different  men,  each  adding  some 
new  fact  or  characteristic,  yet  all  combining  to  form 
one  consistent,  though  apparently  contradictory 
whole. 

Admitting  then,  what  no  one  denies,  the  anti¬ 
quity  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  there  is  no  escape 
from  the  conclusion  that  they  were  written  by 
divine  inspiration,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  to  whom 
they  so  plainly  refer,  is  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  To  suppose  that  Christ, 
knowing  these  ancient  prophecies,  set  himself, 
without  divine  commission,  to  act  in  accordance 
with  them,  is  to  suppose  impossibilities.  It  is  to 
suppose  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  bad  man,  which 
no  one,  who  reads  the  Ne\y  Testament,  can  believe, 
any  more  than  he  can  believe  that  the  sun  is  the 
blackness  of  darkness.  It  is  to  suppose  him  to 
have  had  a  control  ovei  the  actions  of  others  which 
no  impostor  could  exert.  Many  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  predictions  in  reference  to  Christ  were  ful¬ 
filled  by  the  acts  of  his  enemies.  Did  Christ 
instigate  the  treachery  of  Judas,  or  prompt  the 
priests  to  pay  the  traitor  thirty  pieces  of  silver  ? 
Did  he  plot  with  Pilate  for  his  own  condemnation  ? 
or  so  arrange  that  he  should  die  by  aRoman, instead 
of  a  Jewish,  mode  of  capital  infliction  ^  Did  he 
induce  the  soldiers  to  part  his  garments  and  cast 


50 


THE  SCRIPTURES, 


lots  upon  his  vesture,  or  stipulate  with  them  that 

none  of  his  bones  should  be  broken  ?  Bv  what 

¥ 

possible  contrivance  could  the  two  great  predicted 
events  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  Jewish  policy 
and  the  consequent  dispersion  of  the  Jews,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  rapid  propagation  of  the  new 
religion  among  the  Gentiles,  on  the  other,  have  beer 
brought  to  pass  ?  These  events  were  predicted, 
their  occurrence  was  beyond  the  scope  of  contri¬ 
vance  or  imposture.  There  is  no  rational  answer 
to  this  argument  from  prophecy.  The  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures  to  the  messiahship  of  Jesus 
Christ,  is  the^  testimony  of  God.  Search  the 
Scriptures,  said  our  Saviour  himself,  for  in  them 
ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they 
which  testify  of  me. 

God  then  has  been  pleased  to  hedge  up  the  way 
to  infidelity.  Men  must  do  violence  to  all  their 
usual  modes  of  argument;  they  must  believe  moral 
impossibilities  and  irreconcilable  contradictions,  and 
above  all  they  must  harden  their  hearts  to  the 
excellence  of  the  Saviour,  before  they  can  become 
infidels. 

This  exposition  of  the  grounds  of  faith  is  made 
in  order  to  show  that  unbelief  is  a  sin  ,  and  to 
justify  the  awful  declaration  ot  Christ,  “  He  that 
believeth  not,  shall  be  damned.”  Men  flatter  them- 
,elves  that  they  are  not  responsible  for  their  faith. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


51 


Belief  being  involuntary,  cannot,  it  is  said,  be  a 
matter  of  praise  or  blame.  This  false  opinion 
arises  from  confounding  things  very  different  in 
their  nature.  Faith  differs  according  to  its  object 
and  the  nature  of  the  evidence  on  which  it  is  founded 
A  man  believes  that  two  and  two  are  four,  or  that 
Napoleon  died  in  St.  Helena,  and  is  neither  morally 
better,  nor  worse  for  such  a  faith.  Disbelief,  in  such 
cases,  would  indicate  insanity,  not  moral  aberration. 
But  no  man  can  believe  that  virtue  is  vice  or  vice 
virtue,  without  being  to  the  last  degree  depraved. 
No  man  can  disbelieve  in  God,  especially  under 
the  light  of  revelation,  without  t^^ereby  showing 
that  he  is  destitute  of  all  right  moral  and  religious 
sentiments.  And  no  man  can  disbelieve  the  record 
which  God  has  given  of  his  Son,  without  being 
blind  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  moral  excellence 
of  the  Saviour.  He  rejects  the  appropriate  testi¬ 
mony  of  God,  conveyed  in  a  manner  which  proves 
it  to  be  his  testimony. 

It  is  vain,  therefore,  for  any  man  to  hope  that  he  can 
be  innocently  destitute  of  faith  in  God  or  of  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  If  the  external  world  retains  such 
an  impression  of  the  hand  of  Goc,  as  to  leave 
those  without  excuse,  who  refuse  to  regard  it  as  his 
work ;  surely  those  who  refuse  to  acknowledge  the 
excellence  of  his  word  and  the  glory  of  his  Son, 
will  not  be  held  guiltless.  The  evidence  which 


52  THE  SCRIPTURES,  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

has  convinced  millions,  is  before  their  eyes,  and 
should  convince  them.  Instead,  therefore,  of  apolo¬ 
gizing  for  their  want  of  faith  and  complaining  of 
the  weakness  of  the  evidence,  to  which  nothing  but 
neglect  or  blindness  can  render  them  insensible,  lot 
them  confess  their  guilt  in  not  believing,  and  humble 
themselves  before  God  and  pray  that  he  would  open 
their  eyes  to  see  the  excellence  of  his  word.  They 
should  dismiss  their  cavils,  and  be  assured  that  if 
the  Bible  does  not  win  their  faith  by  its  milder 
glories,  it  will  one  day,  reveal  itself  by  its  terrors, 
to  their  awakened  consciences,  to  be  indeed  tht 
word  of  God. , 


CHAPTER  11. 


SIN. 

Sectiou-  I.  All  men  are  sinners.  Tlie.  nature  of  7na«, 
since  the  fall,  is  depraved. 

Since  then  the  Scriptures  are  undoubtedly  the 
word  of  God,  with  what  reverence  should  we  re¬ 
ceive  their  divine  instructions  ;  with  what  assiduity 
and  humility  should  we  study  them ;  with  what 
confidence  should  we  rely  upon  the  truth  of  all 
their  declarations  ;  and  with  what  readiness  should 
we  obey  all  their  directions!  We  are  specially 
concerned  to  learn  what  they  teach  with  regard  to 
the  character^of  men,  the  way  of  salvation,  and 
the  ride  of  duty. 

With  respect  to  the  first  of  these  points,  (the 
character  of  men)  the  Bible  very  clearly  teaches 
that  all  men  are  sinners.  The  apostle  Paul  not 
only  asserts  this  truth,  but  proves  it  at  length,  in 
reference  both  to  those  who  live  under  the  light  of 
nature,  and  those  who  enjoy  the  light  of  revelation. 
The  former,  he  says,  are  justly  chargeable  with 

5  *  53 


54 


SIN. 


impiety  and  immorality,  because  the  perfections  of 
ttie  divine  Being,  his  eternal  power  and  godhead, 
have,  from  the  creation,  been  manifested  by  the 
things  which  are  made.  Yet  men  have  not  ac- 
Knowledged  their  creator.  They  neither  worshipped 
him  as  God,  nor  were  thankful  for  his  mercies,  but 
served  the  creature  more  than  the  creator.  In  thus 
departing  from  the  fountain  of  all  excellence,  they 
departed  from  excellence  itself.  Their  foolish 
hearts  were  darkened  and  their  corruption  manifests 
itself  not  only  by  degrading  idolatry,  but  by  the 
various  forms  of  moral  evil  both  in  heart  and  life. 
These  sins  are  committed  against  the  law  which  is 
written  on  every  man’s  heart ;  so  that  tli^y  know 
that  those  who  do  such  things  are  worthy  of  death, 
and  are  therefore  without  excuse  even  in  their  own 
consciousness. 

With  regard  to  those  who  enjoy  a  supernatural 
revelation  of  the  character  and  requirements  of 
God,  the  case  is  still  more  plain.  Instead  of  ren¬ 
dering  to  this  God  the  inward  and  outward  homage 
which  are  his  due,  they  neglect  his  service,  and 
really  prefer  his  creatures  to  himself.  Instead  of 
regulating  their  conduct  by  the  perfect  rule  of  duty 
contained  in  the  Scriptures,  they  constantly  dis¬ 
honour  God,  by  breaking  that  law.  It  is  thus  the 
apostle  shows  that  all  classes  of  men,  when  judged 
by  the  light  they  have  severally  enjoyed,  are  found 


SIN. 


53 


guilty  before  God.  This  universality  of  guilt  more¬ 
over,  he  says,  is  confirmed  by  the  clear  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures,  which  declare.  There  is  none 
righteous,  no  not  one.  There  is  none  that  under- 
standeth ;  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God. 
They  have  all  gone  out  of  the  way ;  they  have 
altogether  become  unprofitable  ;  there  is  none  that 
doeth  good,  no  not  one. 

This  language  is  not  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
reference  to  the  men  of  any  one  age  or  country, 
but  in  reference  to  the  human  race.  It  is  intended 
to  describe  the  moral  character  of  man.  It  is  in 
this  sense  that  it  is  quoted  and  applied  by  the 
apostle.  And  we  accordingly  find  similar  declara¬ 
tions  in  all  parts  of  the  Bible,  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  as  well  as  in  the  Old,  in  the  writings  of  one 
age,  as  w'ell  as  in  those  of  another.  And  there 
are  no  passages  of  an  opposite  character ;  there  are 
none  which  represent  the  race  as  being  what  God 
requires,  nor  any  which  speak  of  any  member  of 
that  race  as  being  free  from  sin.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  expressly  said.  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin, 
we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.* 
In  many  things  we  all  ofiend.t  There  is  no  man 
that  sinneth  not.J  All  have  sinned  and  come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God.§  Hence  the  Scriptures  pro- 

•  1  John  i.  8.  f  James  iii,  2.  1  Kings  viii.  46. 

§  Horn.  iii.  23. 


56 


SIN 


ceed  upon  the  assumption  of  the  universal  sinful 
ness  of  men.  To  speak,  to  act,  to  walk  after  the 
manner  of  men,  is,  in  the  language  of  the  Bible,  to 
speak  or  act  wickedly.  The  world  are  the  wicked. 
This  present  evil  world,  is  the  description  of  man¬ 
kind,  from  whose  character  and  deserved  punish¬ 
ment,  it  is  said  to  be  the  design  of  Christ’s  death 
to  redeem  his  people.*  The  world  cannot  hate 
you,  said  our  Saviour  to  those  who  refused  to  he 
his  disciples,  but  me  it  hateth,  because  I  testify  of  it 
that  the  works  thereof  are  evil.t  They  are  of  the 
world,  therefore  they  speak  of  the  world  and  the 
world  heareth  them.J  We  are  of  God,  and  the 
whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness.^ 

This  however  is  not  a  doctrine  taught  in  isolatea 
passages.  It  is  one  of  those  fundamental  truths 
which  are  taken  for  granted  in  almost  every  page 
of  the  Bible.  The  whole  scheme  of  redemption 
supposes  that  m.an  is  a  fallen  being.  Christ  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  He  was  announced 
as  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  His  advent  and  work 
have  no  meaning  or  value  but  upon  the  assumption 
that  we  are  guilty,  for  he  came  to  save  his  people 
from  their  sins  ;  to  die  the  just  for  the  unjust ;  to 
bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  Those 

ho  have  no  sin,  need  no  Saviour ;  those  who  do  . 

*  Gal.  i.  4.  f  John  vii.  7.  +1  John  iv.  5. 

§  1  John  V,  19. 


SIN. 


57 


not  deserve  death,  need  no  Reieemer.  A.s  the 
doctrine  of  redemption  pervades  the  Scripture,  so 
does  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  sinfulness  of 
men. 

This  doctrine  is  also  assumed  in  all  the  Scrip¬ 
tural  representations  of  what  is  necessary  for  ad¬ 
mission  into  heaven.  All  men,  everywhere,  are 
commanded  to  repent.  But  repentance  supposes 
sin.  Every  man  must  be  born  again,  in  order  to 
see  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  he  must  become  a  new 
creature  ;  he  must  be  renewed  after  the  image  of 
God.  Being  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  he  must 
be  quickened,  or  made  partaker  of  a  spiritual  life. 
In  short  it  is  the  uniform  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that 
all  men  n^d  both  pardon  and  sanctification  in  order 
to  their  admission  to  heaven.  It  therefore  teaches 
that  all  men  are  sinners. 

The  Scriptures  moreover  teach  that  the  sinfulness 
of  men  is  deep  seated  ;  or,  consisting  in  a  corrup¬ 
tion  of  the  heart,  it  manifests  itself  in  innumerable 
forms  in  the  actions  of  the  life.  All  the  imagina¬ 
tions  of  man’s  heart  are  only  evil  continually."* 
God  says  of  the  human  heart  that  it  is  deceitful  above 
all  things  and  desperately  wicked.t  All  men,  by 
nature  are  the  children  of  wrath.:}:  And  therefore 


*  Gen  vi.  5. 


f  Jer.  xvii.  9. 


^  Eph.  ii.  3. 


58 


S  1  N 


the  Psalm  st  says,  Behold  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity* 
and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me.* 

This  corruption  of  our  nature  is  the  ground  of 
the  constant  reference  of  every  thing  good  in  man 
to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  of  everything  evil,  to  his 
own  nature.  Hence  in  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
the  natural  man  is  a  corrupt  man  ;  and  the  spiritual 
man  alone  is  good.  Hence  too  the  constant  oppo¬ 
sition  of  the  terms  flesh  and  spirit;  the  former 
meaning  our  nature  as  it  is  apart  from  divine  in¬ 
fluence,  and  the  latter  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  its  im¬ 
mediate  effects.  To  be  in  the  flesh,  to  walk  after 
the  flesh,  to  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh,  are  all 
Scriptural  expressions  descriptive  of  the  natural 
state  of  men.  It  is  in  this  sense  of  the  term  that 
Paul  says.  In  my  flesh  there  dwelleth  no  good 
thing  ;t  and  that  our  Saviour  said.  That  which  is 
born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh.:}: 

This  humbling  doctrme  is,  moreover,  involved  in 
all  the  descriptions  which  the  Bible  gives  of  the 
nature  of  that  moral  change  which  is  necessary  to 
salvation.  It  is  no  mere  outward  reformation  ;  it 
is  no  assiduous  performance  of  external  duties. 
It  IS  a  regeneration ;  a  being  born  of  the  Spirit ;  a 
new  creatior  ;  a  passing  from  death  unto  life.  A 


•  Ps.  li.  5. 


Rom.  vii.  18. 


John  iii.  6. 


SIN. 


59 


change  never  effected  by  the  subject  of  it,  but 
v^ich  has  its  source  in  God.  Of  no  doctrine, 
therefore,  is  ttie  Bible  more  full  than  of  that  which 
teaches  that  men  are  depraved  and  fallen  beings, 
who  have  lost  the  image  of  God,  and  who  must  be 
created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  before  they  can  see  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

These  Scriptural  representations  respecting  the 
universality  of  sin  and  the  corruption  of  our  nature, 
are  abundantly  confirmed  by  experience  and  obser¬ 
vation.  Men  may  differ  as  to  the  extent  of  their 
sinfulness,  or  as  to  the  ill  desert  of  their  trans¬ 
gressions,  but  they  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  fact 
that  they  are  sinners,  or  that  they  have  sustained 
this  character  as  long  as  they  have  had  any  self- 
knowledge.  As  far  back  as  they  can  go  in  the 
history  of  their  being,  they  find  the  testimony  of 
conscience  against  them.  As  this  consciousness  of 
sin  is  universal,  and  as  it  exists  as  soon  as  we  have 
any  knowledge  of  ourselves,  it  proves  that  we  are 
fallen  beings  ;  that  we  have  lost  the  moral  image 
of  God  with  which  our  first  parents  were  created. 
It  is  a  fact,  of  which  every  human  being  is  a  wit¬ 
ness,  that  our  moral  nature  is  such  that  instead  of 
seeking  our  happiness  in  God  and  holiness,  we 
prefer  the  creature  to  the  creator.  It  would  be 
just  as  unreasonable  to  assert  tliat  this  was  the 
original,  proper  state  of  man,  as  to  say  our  reason 


60 


8  1  N  . 


was  sound,  if  it  universally,  immediately  and  infal¬ 
libly  led  us  into  wrong  judgments  upon  subjects 
fairly  within  its  competency.  * 

The  proof,  that  man  is  a  depraved  being,  is  as 
strong  as  that  he  is  a  rational,  a  social,  or  a  moral 
'  being.  He  gives  no  signs  of  reason  at  his  birth  ; 
but  he  invariably  manifests  his  intellectual  nature 
as  soon  as  he  becomes  capable  of  appreciating  the 
objects  around  him  or  of  expressing  the  operations 
of  his  mind.  No  one  supposes  reason  to  be  the 
result  of  education,  or  the  effect  of  circumstances, 
merely  because  its  operations  cannot  be  detected 
from  the  first  moment  of  existence.  The  uni¬ 
formity  of  its  manifestation  under  all  circumstances, 
is  regarded  as  sufficient  proof  that  it  is  an  attribute 
of  our  nature. 

The  same  remark  may  be  made  respecting  the 
social  affections.  No  one  of  them  is  manifested 
from  the  beginning  of  our  course  in  this  world  ; 
yet  the  fact  that  men  in  all  ages  and  under  all  cir¬ 
cumstances,  evince  a  disposition  to  live  in  society  ; 
that  all  parents  love  their  children,  that  all  people 
have  more  or  less  sympathy  in  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  their  fellow  men,  is  proof  that  these  affections 
are  not  acquired  but  original,  that  they  belong  to 
our  nature  and  are  characteristic  of  it. 

In  like  manner  the  apostle  reasons  from  the  fact 
that  all  men  perform  moral  acts  and  experience  the 


SIN. 


61 


approbation  or  disapprobation  of  conscience,  that 
they  have,  by  nature,  and  not  from  example,  in¬ 
struction,  or  any  other  external  influence,  but  in 
virtue  of  their  original  moral  constitution,  a  law 
written  on  their  hearts,  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong. 
But  if  the  uniform  occurrence  of  any  moral  acts  is  a 
proof  of  a  moral  nature,  the  uniform  occurrence 
of  wrong  moral  acts  is  a  proof  of  a  corrupt  moral 
nature.  If  the  universal  manifestation  of  reason 
and  of  the  social  aflections,  proves  man  to  be  by 
nature  a  rational  and  social  being,  the  universal 
manifestation  of  sinful  aflections  proves  him  to  be 
by  nature  a  sinful  being.  When  we  say  that  any 
one  is  a  bad  man,  we  mean  that  the  predominant 
character  of  his  actions  proves  him  to  have  bad  prin* 
ciples  or  dispositions.  And  when  we  say  that  man’s 
nature  is  depraved  we  mean  that  it  is  a  nature  whose 
moral  acts  are  wrong.  And  this  uniformity  of 
wrong  moral  action  is  as  much  a  proof  of  a  de¬ 
praved  nature,  as  the  acts  of  a  bad  man  are  a  proof 
of  the  predominance  of  evil  dispositions  in  his 
heart.  This  is  the  uniform  judgment  of  men, 
and  is  sanctioned  by  th(  word  of  God  A  good 
tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  cor¬ 
rupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit.  Therefore  by  their 
fruits  shall  ye  know  them.  This  illustration  was 
used  by  our  Saviour  with  the  express  design  of 
teaching  that  the  predominant  character  of  the  acta 

6 


62 


SIN 


of  men,  is  to  be  taken  as  a  certain  index  of  the 
state  of  the  heart ;  and  hence  the  uniform  occur¬ 
rence  of  sin  in  all  men  is  a  certain  evidence  of  the 
corruption  of  their  nature.  Indeed  th^e  is  no  one 
fact  with  regard  to  human  nature,  which  conscious¬ 
ness  and  observation  more  fully  establish  than 
that  it  is  depraved. 


Section  II.  The  sins  of  men  are  numerous  and  aggra¬ 
vated. 

The  Bible  not  only  teaches  that  all  men  are  sin¬ 
ners,  and  that  the  evil  is  deeply  seated  in  their 
hearts,  but  moreover  that  their  sinfulness  is  very 
great.  The  clearest  intimation  which  a  lawgiver 
can  give  of  his  estimate  of  the  evil  of  transgres¬ 
sion  is  the  penalty  which  he  attaches  to  the  viola¬ 
tion  of  his  laws.  If  he  is  wise  and  good,  the 
penalty  will  be  a  true  index  of  the  real  demerit  of 
transgression ;  and  in  the  case  of  God,  who  is  infi¬ 
nitely  wise  and  good,  the  punishment  which  he 
denounces  against  sin,  must  be  an  exact  criterion 
of  its  ill-desert.  If  we  are  unable  to  see  that  sin 
really  deserves  what  God  has  declared  to  be  its 
proper  punishment,  it  only  shows  that  our  judg¬ 
ment  differs  from  his  ;  and  that  it  should  thus  differ 
is  no  matter  of  surprise.  We  cannot  know  all 
the  reasons  which  indicate  the  righteousness  of 


SIN. 


63 


.iivine  threatenings  We  can  have  no  adequate 
conception  of  the  greatness,  goodness  and  wisdom 
of  the  Being  against  whom  we  sin  ;  nor  of  the  evil 
which  sin  is  suited  to  produce  ;  nor  of  the  perfect 
excellence  of  the  law  which  we  transgress.  That 
sin  therefore  appears  to  us  a  less  evil  than  God  de¬ 
clares  it  to  be,  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  really  un 
deserving  of  his  wrath  and  curse. 

There  is  a  still  more  operative  cause  of  our  low 
estimate  of  the  evil  of  sin.  The  more  depraved 
a  man  is,  the  less  capable  is  he  of  estimating  the 
heinousness  of  his  transgressions.  And  the  man 
who  in  one  part  of  his  career,  looked  upon  certain 
crimes  with  abhorrence,  comes  at  last  to  regard 
them  with  indifference.  That  we  are  sinners 
therefore,  is  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  fact, 
that  we  look  upon  sin  in  a  very  different  light  from 
that  in  which  it  is  presented  in  the  word  of  God. 
Nothing  then  can  be  more  reasonable  than  that  we 
should  bow  before  the  judgment  of  God,  and  ac- 
Knowledge  that  sin  really  deserves  the  punishment 
.  which  he  has  declared  to  be  its  due.  That  punish¬ 
ment  is  so  awful,  that  nothing  but  a  profound 
reverence  for  God,  and  some  adequate  conception 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  can  produce  a  sincere  acquiescence 
in  its  justice.  Yet  nothing  can  be  more  tertaii? 
than  that  this  punishment  is  the  proper  measure  of 
the  ill-desert  of  sin. 


64 


SIN. 


The  term  commonly  employed  to  designate  this 
punishment  is  death ;  dea^  not  merely  of  the 
body,  but  of  the  soul ;  rmt  merely  temporal  but 
eternal.  It  is  a  comprehensive  term  therefore  to 
express  the  evils  in  this  world  and  the  world  to 
come,  which  are  the  penal  consequences  of  sin. 
In  this  sense  it  is  to  be  understood  in  the  threat¬ 
ening  made  to  our  first  parents ;  in  the  day  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die  and  when 
the  prophet  says.  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die  ;t 
and  when  the  Apostle  says,  The  wages  of  sin  is 
death.J  The  same  general  idea  is  expressed  by 
the  word  curse.  As  many  as  are  of  the  law 
are  under  the  curse ;  for  it  is  written,  cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them  ;§  and  also  by 
the  word  wrath,  We  were  by  nature  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  wrath, 11  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed 
from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteous¬ 
ness  of  men.^ 

These  and  similar  passages  teach  that  sinners 
are  the  objects  of  the  divine  displeasure,  and  that, 
this  displeasure  will  certainly  be  manifested.  As 
God  is  infinitely  good  and  the  fountain  of  all  bles¬ 
sedness,  his  displeasure  must  be  the  greatest  of  all 

•  Gen.  ii.  17.  j*  Ezek.  xviii.  4.  ^  Rom.  vi.  23. 

§  Gal.  iii  10.  S  Eph.  ii.  3.  1  Rom.  i.  18 


SIN 


65 


evils.  The  Scriptures,  however,  in  order  to  impress 
this  truth  more  deeply  upon  our  minds,  employ  the 
strongest  terms  human  language  affords,  to  set 
forth  the  dreadful  import  of  God’s  displeasure. 
Those  who  obey  not  the  gospel,  it  is  said,  shall  be 
punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power.*  Our  Saviour  says.  The  wicked  shall  be 
cast  into  hell,  into  the  fire  that  never  shall  he 
quenched ;  where  their  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched.!  At  the  last  great  day,  he  tells 
us,  the  judge  shall  say  to  those  upon  his  left  hand, 
Depart  from  me  ye  cursed  into  everlasting  fire,  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. j:  The  Son  of 
man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall 
gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend, 
and  them  that  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into 
a  furnace  of  fire  ;  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnash¬ 
ing  of  teeth. §  In  the  last  day,  all  that  are  in 
their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come 
forth ;  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrec¬ 
tion  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the 
resurrection  of  damnation  ;||  or  as  it  is  expressed 
in  Daniel,^  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 

Whatever  explanation  may  be  given  of  the  terms 

*  2  Thess.  1,  9.  f  Mark.  ix.  43,  44.  t  Matt.  xxv.  41 

^  Matt.  xiii.  41,  42.  (1  John  v.  29.  ^  Daniel  xii.  2. 

6* 


66 


SIN. 


emplo}  ed  in  these  and  many  similar  passages,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  intended  to  convey 
the  idea  of  endless  and  hopeless  misery.  Whence 
this  misery  shall  arise,  or  wherein  it  shall  consist 
are  questions  of  minor  importance.  It  is  sufficient 
that  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  sufferings  here 
spoken  of,  are  in  degree  inconceivably  great  and 
in  duration  endless.  The  most  fearful  exhibition 
given  of  the  future  state  of  the  impenitent,  is  that 
which  presents  them  as  reprobates,  as  abandoned  to 
the  unrestrained  dominion  of  evil.  The  repressing 
influence  of  conscience,  of  a  probationary  state,  of 
a  regard  to  character,  of  good  example,  and  above 
all  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  be  withdrawn,  ana  un¬ 
mingled  malignity,  impurity  and  violence  constitute 
the  character  and  condition  of  those  who  finally 
perish.  The  wicked  are  represented  as  constantly 
blaspheming  0£d,  while  they  gnaw  their  tongues 
with  pain.^  The  God  who  pronounces  this  doom 
upon  sinners,  is  he  who  said.  As  I  live  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked.  The  most 
fearful  of  ffiese  passages  fell  from  the  lips  of  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  came  to  die  that  we  might  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  against  the 
thiel  of  sinners  that  this  dreadful  punisl  ment  is 


*  Rev.  xvi.  10. 


SIN. 


C7 


denounced.  It  is  against  sin,  one  sin,  any  sin. 
Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them.* 
Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet 
offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.f  As 
far  as  we  know,  the  angels  were  punished  for  their 
first  offence.  Adam  and  his  race  fell  by  one  trans¬ 
gression.  Human  governments  act  on  the  same 
principle.  If  a  man  commit  murder,  he  suffers 
death  for  the  one  offence.  If  he  is  guilty  of  treason, 
he  finds  no  defence  in  his  freedom  from  other 
crimes.  Sin  is  apostasy  from  God  ;  it  breaks  our 

communion  with  him,  and  is  the  ruin  of  the  soul. 

■  .^,1  '■»»’ — . ..  - 

The  displeasure  of  God  against  sin  and  his  fixed 
determination  to  punish  it,  are  also  manifested  by  the 
certain  connexion  which  he  has  established  between 
sin  and  suffering.  It  is  the  undeniable  tendency 
of  sin  to  produce  misery;  and  although  in  this 
world  the  good  are  not  always  more  happy  than  the 
wicked,  this  only  shows  that  the  present  is  a  state 
of  trial  and  not  of  retribution.  It  affords  no  evi¬ 
dence  to  contradict  the  proof  of  the  purpose  of 
God  to  punish  sin,  derived  from  the  obvious  and 
necessary  tendency  of  sin  to  produce  misery. 
This  tendency  is  as  much  a  law  of  nature  as  any 
other  law  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Men 


♦Gal.  iii  10. 


■f  James  ii.  10, 


68 


SIN. 


flatter  themselves  that  they  will  escape  the  evl. 
consequences  of  their  transgressions  by  appealing 
to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  obtaining  a  suspension 
of  this  law  in  their  behalf.  They  might  as  reasona¬ 
bly  expect  the  law  of  gravitation  to  be  suspended 
for  their  convenience.  He  that  soweth  to  the 
flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption,  as  cer¬ 
tainly  as  he  who  sows  tares  shall  reap  tares.  The 
‘  only  link  which  binds  together  causes  and  effects 
in  nature,  is  the  will  of  God ;  and  the  same  will, 
no  less  clearly  revealed,  connects  suffering  with 
sin.  And  this  is  a  connexion  absolutely  indissolu¬ 
ble  save  by  the  mystery  of  redemption. 

To  suspend  the  operation  of  a  law  of  nature,  (as  to 
stop  the  sun  in  his  course,)  is  merely  an  exercise  of 
power.  But  to  save  sinners  from  the  curse  of  the 
law  required  that  Christ  should  be  made  a  curse 
for  us ;  that  he  should  bear  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree  ;  that  he  should  be  made  sin  for 
us  and  die  the  just  for  the  unjust.  It  would  be  a 
reflection  on  the  wisdom  of  God  to  suppose  that 
he  would  employ  means  to  accomplish  an  end  more 
costly  than  that  end  required.  Could  our  redemp¬ 
tion  have  been  effected  by  corruptible  things,  as 
silver  or  gold,  or  could  the  blood  of  bulls  or  of 
goats  have  taken  away  sin,  who  can  believe  thai 
Christ  would  have  died?  The  apostle  clearly 
teaches  that  it  is  to  make  the  death  of  Christ  vain, 


I  N  . 


69 


to  affirm  that  our  salvation  could  have  been  other¬ 
wise  secured.*  Since,  then,  in  order  to  the  pardon 
of  sin,  the  death  of  Christ  was  necessary,  it  is 
evident  that  the  evil  of  sin  in  the  sight  of  Goa 
must  be  estimated  by  the  dignity  of  him  who 
died  for  our  redemption.  Here  we  approach  the  / 
most  mysterious  and  awful  doctrine  of  the  Bible. 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  All 
<Jiings  were  made  by  him ;  and  without  him  was 
not  any  thing  made  that  was  made.  And  the  word 
was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld 
his  glory  as  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father  full  of 
^Tace  and  truth.t  God  therefore  was  manifested 
in  the  flesh.  He  who  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
/orm  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men  ;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  hum¬ 
bled  himself  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  evei? 
the  death  of  the  cross.:]:  He  then — who  is  declared 
to  be  the  brightness  of  the  Father’s  glory  and  the 
express  image  of  his  person,  upholding  all  things 
by  the  word  of  his  powe* ;  whom  all  the  angels 
are  commanded  to  worship ;  of  whom  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  say,  Thy  throne  O  God  is  for  ever  and  ever 


•Ga^ii.  21.  f  John  i.  1,  3,  14. 


t  Phil  ii.  6,  7 


70 


SIN. 


Thou  Lord  in  the  beginning  hast  »aid  the  fouinJation 
of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  thy 
hands;  They  shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest ;  they 
shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a  vesture 
shalt  thou  fold  them  up,  and  they  shall  be  changed ; 
but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail — 
even  He,  who  is  God  over  all  and  blessed  foiever, 
inasmuch  as  the  children  were  partakers  of  flesh 
and  blood,  himself  also  took  part  of  the  same ;  that 
through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  Devil,  and  deliver  them 
who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  that  the  infinite 
and  eternal  Son  of  God  assumed  our  nature,  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law  by  being 
made  a  curse  for  us.  It  is  obvious  that  no  severity 
of  mere  human  suffering ;  no  destroying  deluge ; 
no  final  conflagration,  not  hell  itself  can  present 
such  a  manifestation  of  the  evil  of  sin  and  of  the 
justice  of  God  as  the  cross  of  his  incarnate  Son. 
It  declares  in  language  which  is  heard  by  the  whole 
intelligent  universe,  that  sin  deserves  God’s  wrath 
and  curse,  and  that  none  who  refuse  submission  to 
the  appointed  method  of  pardon,  can  escape  its 
condemnation. 

The  penalty  then  which  God  has  attached  to  tlie 
violation  of  his  law,  the  certainty  with  which  that 


SIN. 


71 


penalty  is  inflicted,  the  doom  of  the  fallen  angels, 
the  consequences  of  Adam’s  sin,  and  above  all  the 
death  of  Christ,  are  manifestations  of  the  evil  of 
sin  in  the  estimation  of  God,  which  it  is  the  highest 
infatuation  for  us  to  disregard. 

However  obdurate  our  hearts  maybe  in  reference 
to  this  subject,  our  reason  is  not  so  blind  as  not  to 
see  that  our  guilt  must  be  exceedingly  great.  We 
cannot  deny  that  all  the  circumstances  which  ag¬ 
gravate  the  heinousness  of  sin  concur  in  our  case. 
The  law  which  we  transgress  is  perfectly  good.  It 
is  the  law  of  God ;  the  law  of  right  and  reason. 
It  is  the  expression  of  the  highest  excellence  ;  it  is 
suited  to  our  nature,  necessary  to  our  perfection 
and  happiness.  Opposition  to  such  a  law  must 
be  in  the  highest  degree  unreasonable  and  wicked. 

This  law  is  enforced  not  only  by  its  own  excel¬ 
lence  but  by  the  authority  of  God.  Disregard  of 
this  authority  is  the  greatest  crime  of  which  a  crea¬ 
ture  is  capable  It  is  rebellion  against  a  being- 
whose  right  to  command  is  founded  on  his  infinite 
superiority,  his  infinite  goodness  and  his  absolute 
propriety  in  us  as  his  creatures.  It  is  apostasy 
from  the  kingdom  of  God  to  the  kingdom  of  Satan. 
There  is  no  middle  ground  betvveen  the  two.  Every 
one  is  either  the  servant  of  God,  or  the  servant  of 
the  devil.  Holiness  is  the  evidence  of  our  allegiance 
10  our  mtker,  sin  is  the  service  of  Satan.  Could 


2 


SIN. 


we  form  any  adequate  conception  of  these  two 
kingdoms,  of  the  intrinsic  excellence  of  the  one 
nd  the  absolute  evil  of  the  other,  of  the  blessedness 
attendant  on  the  one  and  the  misery  connected  with 
he  other ;  could  we  in  short  bring  heaven  and  hell  in 
immediate  contrast,  we  might  have  some  propei 
view  of  the  guilt  of  this  apostasy  from  God.  It  is 
the  natural  tendency  of  our  conduct  to  degrade 
ourselves  and  others,  to  make  Eden  like  Sodom, 
and  to  kindle  everv  where  the  fire  that  never  shall 
be  quenched.  This  cannot  be  denied,  for  moral 
evil  is  the  greatest  of  all  evils  and  the  certain  cause 
of  all  others.  He  therefore  who  sins  is  not  only 
a  rebel  against  God,  but  a  malefactor,  an  enemy  to 
the  highest  good  of  his  fellow  creatures. 

Again,  our  guilt  is  great  because  our  sins  are  ex¬ 
ceedingly  numerous.  It  is  not  merely  outward 
acts  of  unkindness  and  dishonesty  with  which  we 
are  chargeable,  our  habitual  and  characteristic  state 
of  mind  is  evil  in  the  sight  of  God.  Our  pride 
vanity,  indifference  to  his  will  and  to  the  welfare 
of  others,  our  selfishness,  our  loving  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator,  are  continuous  violations  of 
his  law.  We  have  never,  in  any  one  moment  of 
our  lives,  been  or  done  what  that  law  requires  us  to  be 
and  to  do.  We  have  never  had  that  delight  in  the 
divine  perfections,  that  sense  of  dependence  and 
obligation,  that  fixed  purpose  to  do  the  will  and 


SIN. 


7.3 


yromote  the  glory  of  God,  which  constitute  the  love 
which  is  our  first  and  highest  duty.  'It  is  in  this 
sense  that  mankind  are  said  to  be  totally  depraved ; 
they  are  entirely  destitute  of  supreme  love  to  God. 
Whatever  else  they  may  have  is  as  nothing  while 
this  is  wanting.  They  may  be  affectionate  fatheis 
or  kind  masters,  or  dutiful  sons  and  daughters,  but 
they  are  not  obedient  children  of  God ;  they  have 
not  those  feelings  towards  God  which  constitute 
their  first  and  greatest  duty,  and  without  which 
they  are  always  transgressors.  The  man  who  is  a 
rebel  against  his  righteous  sovereign,  and  whose 
heart  is  full  of  enmity  to  his  person  and  govern¬ 
ment,  may  be  faithful  to  his  associates  and  kind  to 
his  dependents,  but  he  is  always  and  increasingly 
guilty  as  it  regards  his  ruler.  Thus  we  are  always 
sinners ;  we  are  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum 
stances  in  opposition  to  God,  because  we  are  never 
what  his  law  requires  us  to  be.  If  we  have  never 
loved  him  supremely ;  if  we  have  never  made  it 
our  governing  purpose  to  do  his  will ;  if  we  ha'-e 
never  been  properly  grateful  for  all  his  mercies  ;  if 
we  have  never  made  his  glory,  but  some  other  and 
lower  object,  the  end  of  our  actions  ;  then  our  lives 
have  been  an  unbroken  series  of  transgressions. 
Our  sins  are  not  to  be  numbered  by  the  conscious 
violations  of  duty  ;  they  are  as  numerous  as  the 
moments  of  our  existence. 


7 


74 


SIN. 


If  vhe  permanent  moral  disp.  iitions  of  a  man  are 
evil,  it  must  follow  that  his  acts  of  transgression 
will  be  past  counting  up.  Every  hour  there  is  some 
work  of  evil,  some  wrong  thought,  some  bad  feel* 
ing,  some  improper  word,  or  some  wickf^d  act,  to 
add  to  the  number  of  his  offences.  The  evil  ex 
ercise  of  an  evil  heart  is  like  the  ceaseless  swinging 
of  the  pendulum.  The  slightest  review  of  life 
therefore  is  sufficient  to  overwhelm  us  with  the 
conviction  of  the  countless  multitude  of  our  trans¬ 
gressions.  It  is  this  which  constitutes  our  exceed¬ 
ing  sinfulness  in  the  sight  of  God.  While  con¬ 
science  sleeps,  or  our  attention  is  directed  to  other 
subjects,  the  number  of  our  transgressions  grows 
like  the  unnoticed  pulsations  of  our  heart.  It  is 
not  until  we  pause  and  call  ourselves  to  an  account, 
that  we  see  how  many  feelings  have  b^en  wimng; 
how  great  is  the  distance  at  which  we  habitually 
live  from  God,  and  how  constant  is  our  want  of 

conformity  to  his  will.  It  was  this  that  forced  the 
✓  ^  _ _ _ 

Psalmist  to  cry.  Mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold 
upon  me  so  that  I  am  not  able  to  look  up,  ‘hey 
are  more  than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  therefore  my 
heart  faileth  me. 

Again,  we  may  judge  of  the  greatness  of  our 
guilt  before  God,  by  considering  the  numerous  re¬ 
straints  of  his  truth,  providence  and  spirit,  which 
we  habitually  disregard.  Tiie  simple  fact  that  sin 


SIN. 


75 


Is  wrong,  that  conscience  condemns  it,  is  a  constant 
and  powerful  restraint.  We  cannot  avail  ourselves 
of  the  plea  of  ignorance,  as  we  have  a  perfect 
standard  of  duty  in  the  law  of  God.  We  cannot 
resist  the  conviction  that  his  commands  are  right¬ 
eous,  yet,  in  despite  of  this  conviction,  we  live  in 
constant  disobedience. 

We  are,  moreover,  fully  aware  of  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  sin.  We  know  the  judgment  of  God 
that  those  who  do  such  things  are  worthy  of  death, 
and  yet  continue  our  transgressions.  We  are  sur¬ 
prised  at  the  drunkard  who  indulges  his  fatal  pas¬ 
sion  in  the  very  presence  of  ruin ;  yet  are  blind  to 
our  own  infatuation  in  continuing  to  disobey  God 
in  despite  of  threatened  death.  We  stupidly  dis- 
-  regard  the  certain  consequences  of  our  conduct,  and 
awake  only  in  time  to  see  that  madness  is  in  our 
hearts.  This  insensibility,  notwithstanding  the 
occasional  admonitions  of  conscience  and  the  con¬ 
stant  warnings  of  the  word  of  God,  constitutes  a 
peculiar  aggravation  of  our  guilt. 

Nor  are  we  more  mindful  of  the  restraining  in- 
tluence  of  the  love  of  God.  We  disregard  the 
fact  that  the  Being  against  whom  we  sin,  is  He 
to  whom  we  owe  our  existence  and  all  our  enjoy¬ 
ments  ;  whc  has  carried  us  in  his  arms,  and  crowned 
us  with  loving  kindness  and  tender  mercies ;  who 
is  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger  and  plen- 


76 


SIN. 


teous  in  mercy ;  who  has  not  dealt  with  us  aftei 
our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  according  to  our  iniqui¬ 
ties,  but  has  borne  with  our  provocations,  waiting 
that  his  goodness  might  lead  us  to  repentance 
We  have  despised  his  forbearance,  deriving  from 
it  a  motive  to  sin,  as  though  he  were  slack  con¬ 
cerning  his  promises,  and  would  not  accomplish  his 
threatenings ;  thus  treasuring  up  for  ourselves 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  Besides  all  this, 
we  disregard  the  love  of  Christ.  He  came  to  save 
us  from  our  sins,  and  w'e  will  not  accept  of  his 
mediation,  or  reciprocate  his  love.  There  stands 
his  cross,  mutely  eloquent ;  at  once  an  invitation 
and  a  warning.  It  tells  us  both  of  the  love  and 
justice  of  God.  It  assures  us  that  he  who  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  is  ready  to  be  gracious.  All  this 
we  disregard.  We  count  the  blood  of  the  cove¬ 
nant,  an  unholy  thing  ;  we  act  as  if  it  were  not  the 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  shed  for  us  for  the  re¬ 
mission  of  sins.  Or,  it  may  be,  we  turn  the  grace 
of  God  into  licentiousness,  and  draw  encouragemeni 
from  the  death  of  Christ  to  continue  in  sin.  This 
unbelieving  rejection  of  the  Saviour  involves  guilt 
so  peculiarly  great,  that  it  is  often  spoken  of  as  the 
special  ground  of  the  condemnation  of  the  world. 
He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  be¬ 
cause  he  hath  not  believed  on  the  only  begotten 


SIN. 


77 


Son  of  God.  When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come, 
he  shall  convince  the  world  of  sin,  because  they 
believe  not  in  me.  If  he  that  despised  Moses’ 
law  died  without  mercy,  under  two  or  three  wit¬ 
nesses,  of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose 
ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God  ! 

This  great  sin  of  rejecting  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
Saviour,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  an  often  repeated 
and  long  continued  sin.  It  is  also  one  which  is 
chargeable  not  on  the  openly  wicked  merely,  but 
upon  those  whom  the  world  calls  moral.  They 
too  resist  the  claims  of  the  Son  of  God ;  they  too 
refuse  his  love  and  reject  his  offers.  It  was  when 
all  other  messengers  had  failed,  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard  sent  his  Son  to  his  disobedient  servants, 
saying.  They  will  reverence  my  Son.  The  guilt 
of  thus  rejecting  Christ,  will  never  be  '"ully  appre¬ 
ciated  until  the  day  when  He  shall  sit  on  the  throne 
and  from  his  face  the  earth  and  heaven  shall  flee 
away  and  no  place  be  found  for  them. 

Besides  these  restraints  from  without,  we  resist 
the  still  more  powerful  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  That  Spirit  strives  with  all  men  ;  suggest¬ 
ing  truth  and  exciting  conscience,  expostulating 
and  warning,  and  drawing  men  from  sin  to  God. 
It  is  from  Him  that  all  good  thoughts  and  right 
purposes  do  proceed.  This  spirit  we  quench  ;  we 

7  * 


78 


SIN. 


resist  his  gracious  influences,  not  once  or  twice, 
but  a  thousand  times.  Though  he  will  not  always 
strive  with  men,  he  strives  long,  and  returns  after 
many  insulting  rejections,  repeating  the  warnings 
and  invitations  of  mercy.  All  men  are  sensible  of 
this  divine  influence,  though  they  may  nolbe  awaie 
of  its  origin.  They  know  not  whence  proceed  the 
serious  thoughts,  the  anxious  forebodings,  the  con¬ 
victions  of  truth,  the  sense  of  the  emptiness  of  the 
world,  the  longing  after  security  and  peace  of 
which  they  are  conscious.  God  sends  these  admo¬ 
nitions  even  to  those  who  are  most  contented  with 
the  world  and  most  happy  in  their  estrangement 
from  himself.  He  leaves  no  man  without  a  witness 
and  a  warning.  These  strivings  of  the  Spirit  are 
not  only  frequent,  but  often  urgent.  Almost  every 
man  can  look  back  and  see  many  instances  in  which 
an  unseen  hand  was  upon  him,  when  a  voice,  not 
from  man,  has  sounded  in  his  ears,  when  feelings 
to  which  he  was  before  a  strang-er  were  awakened 
in  his  breast,  and  when  he  felt  the  power  of  the 
world  to  come.  The  shadow  of  the  Almighty  has 
passed  over  him,  and  produced  the  conviction  that 
God  is,  and  that  He  is  an  avenger. 

From  a  review  of  what  has  been  said  it  is  plain 
that  the  Scriptures  teach  not  only  that  all  men  are 
sinners,  but  that  their  corruption  is  radical,  seated 
in  their  hearts,  and  that  it  is  exceedingly  great 


SIN. 


79 


The  severity  of  the  penalty  which  God  has  attached 
10  transgression,  the  certainty  of  its  infliction,  the 
costliness  of  the  sacrifice  by  which  alone  its  pardon 
could  be  obtained,  are  all  proofs  of  the  evil  of  sin 
jn  the  sight  of  God.  The  greatness  of  our  per¬ 
sonal  guilt  is  plain  from  the  excellence  of  the  law 
which  we  have  violated  ;  from  the  authority  and 
goodness  of  the  Being  whom  we  have  offended, 
from  the  number  of  our  sins,  and  from  the  power¬ 
ful  restraints  which  we  have  disregarded. 


I 


CHAPTER  III. 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE  TO  THE  CHARGE  F  SIN 

Section  I.  <Sm,  want  of  consideration,  striving  against 
the  Spirit. 

The  charge  of  sin  is  brought  so  directly  in  the 
word  of  God  against  every  human  being,  and  is  so 
fully  sustained  by  observation  and  experience,  that 
the  general  indifference  of  men  under  so  weighty 
an  accusation  is  a  fact  which  needs  explanation. 
Indifference  is  no  proof  of  innocence,  any  more 
than  insensibility  to  pain  is  a  proof  of  health.  In 
ordinary  cases  indeed,  a  man  cannot  be  ill  without 
knowing  it,  but  his  sensations  are  a  very  unsafe 
criterion  of  the  nature  or  danger  of  his  disease.  He 
may  be  most  free  from  pain,  when  most  in  peril. 
In  like  manner,  the  indifference  of  men  to  their  own 
sinfulness  affords  no  presumption  that  their  guilt  is 
not  great  in  the  sight  of  God.  The  absence  of  the 
immediate  consciousness  of  guilt  is  no  proof  of  in* 
nocence,  unless  attended  by  the  joyful  exercise  of 
all  right  feelings.  When  accompanied  by  indif 

80 


INDIFFERENCE  TO  SIN 


81 


ference  to  duty  and  the  indulgence  of  sin,  it  is  the 
evidence  of  the  depth  of  our  depravity.  All  men 
assume  this  to  be  true  in  theii  judgments  of  those 
more  wicked  than  themselves.  To  say  of  a  man,  he 
is  a  hardened  wretch,  is  not  the  language  :f  exten¬ 
uation  or  apology.  It  is  the  language  of  aggravated 
condemnation.  Those  who  feel  thus  keenly  with 
regard  to  others,  that  indifference  is  an  aggravation 
of  guilt,  strangely  imagine  it  to  be,  in  their  own 
case,  a  proof  of  comparative  innocence. 

This  insensibility  of  men,  therefore,  to  the  moral 
turpitude  of  their  character  in  the  sight  of  God,  so 
far  from  being  an  indication  of  goodness,  is  the 
result  and  evidence  of  the  extent  of  their  corrup¬ 
tion.  As  in  bodily  disease  when  the  seat  of  life  is 
attacked,  the  sensibilities  are  weakened,  so  in  th» 
disease  of  sin,  insensibility  is  one  of  its  symptoms, 
and  increases  with  the  increase  of  the  evil.  Sin 
produces  this  effect  both  by  blinding  the  mind  and 
by  hardening  the  heart.  It  obscures  our  apprehen¬ 
sions  of  the  excellence  of  God  and  of  his  law,  and  it 
produces  a  callousness  of  feeling,  so  that  what  is  seen 
is  not  regarded.  Experience  teaches  us  that  a  mere 
change  in  the  state  of  the  mind,  produces  an  imme¬ 
diate  and  entire  change  in  our  apprehensions  and  feel¬ 
ings  in  reference  to  our  own  sins.  The  man  who  at 
one  hour  was  indifferent  as  the  most  careless,  at  the 
next,  is  filled  with  astonishment  and  remorse.  Others 


82 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


tnink  his  feelings  unreasonable  and  exaggerated ;  he 
knows  them  to  be  rational  and  even  inadequate  This 
is  not  the  result  of  any  hallucination  or  m  staken 
apprehensions  of  God  or  of  his  own  character.  It 
is  the  natural  effect  of  an  enlightened  mind  and  of 
an  awakened  conscience.  The  ease  and  frequency 
with  which  the  indifference  of  men  to  their  guilt  in 
the  sight  of  God,  is  destroyed,  is  of  itself  a  proof 
that  their  insensibility  is  not  based  upon  truth  ;  that 
it  is  the  effect  of  a  darkened  understanding  and  a 
hardened  heart,  and  that  though  it  may  increase  as 
sin  gains  the  ascendency,  it  vanishes  the  moment 
the  light  and  power  of  truth  are  let  in  upon  the 
soul. 

Besides  this  general  cause  of  the  indifference  of 
men  to  the  declarations  of  God  regarding  their  sin¬ 
fulness,  there  are  others  which  ought  to  be  specified. 
When  the  prophet  contemplated  the  impenitent 
unconcern  of  the  people,  he  exclaimed,  Israel  doth 
not  know,  my  people  do  not  consider.  And  when 
God  would  rouse  them  to  a  sense  of  their  guilt,  he 
says.  Now  therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
consider  your  ways.  It  is  this  want  of  considera- 
tion,  more  than  any  difficulty  in  arriving  at  the 
truth,  which  sets  men  in  such  opposition  to  God  ii» 
their  judgments  of  themselves,  and  which  hardens 
them  in  their  indifference.  This  inconsidera¬ 
tion  indeed  is  but  an  effect  of  the  more  general 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN, 


83 


I  cause  already  referred  to,  but  it  becomes  in  its  turn 
:  a  cause  both  of  ignorance  and  unconcern.  Men 
learn  little  upon  any  subject  by  intuition,  and  the 
knowledge  of  their  own  hearts  is  not  to  be  obtained 
without  painful  self-examination.  This  self-know 
ledge  is  the  subject  to  which  men  generally  devoU 
the  least  attention.  They  are  engrossed  by  the 
^•ares  or  pleasures  of  the  world.  They  either  float 
quietly  down  the  stream  of  life,  or  are  hurried  along 
its  troubled  course,  with  scarcely  an  hour  given  to 
serious  reflection.  That  under  such  circumstances 
men  should  be  ignorant  of  themselves  and  indiffer¬ 
ent  to  their  character  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  not 
only  natural  but  unavoidable.  It  is  however  a 
lamentable  thing  that  they  should  make  a  judgment 
of  themselves  formed  without  consideration,  the 
ground  of  their  conduct,  and  confide  in  it  in  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  judgment  of  God.  If  they  will  judge, 
let  them  at  least  consider.  If  they  will  act  on 
their  own  conclusions  respecting  themselves,  let 
them  at  least  examine  and  decide  deliberately,  and 
not  venture  every  thing  on  a  hasty,  unconsidered 
estimate  of  their  character,  which,  it  may  be,  could 
not  stand,  even  in  their  own  judgment,  a  moment’s 
inspection. 

Men,  however,  are  not  merely  inconsiderate,  they 
often  make  direct  efforts  to  suppress  the  rising  con¬ 
viction  of  guilt  and  danger.  The  testimony  of  God 


84 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


against  them  is  so  plain ;  the  authority  of  his  law 
IS  so  obvious ;  their  want  of  conformity  to  it  is  so 
glaring,  and  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  are  so 
general  and  frequent,  that  the  conviction  of  sin  can 
hardly  fail  to  obtrude  itself  even  upon  those  who 
in  general  are  the  most  unconcerned.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  a  painful  conviction,  and  therefore,  instead  of 
being  cherished,  it  is  disregarded  or  suppressed. 
The  mind  refuses  to  dwell  upon  the  subject,  or  to 
examine  the  evidence  of  guilt,  but  either  turns  to 
other  objects,  or,  by  some  act  of  levity  or  transgres¬ 
sion,  grieves  aw'ay  the  Spirit  of  God  and  hardens- 
itself  in  unconcern.  This  is  a  frequently  recur¬ 
ring  experience  in  the  history  of  most  men.  They 
have  more  anxious  thoughts  than  they  allow  their 
most  intimate  friends  to  suspect ;  they  often  mask 
an  aching  heart  with  a  smiling  face.  They  have  a 
quick  foresight  of  what  such  feelings  must  lead  to, 
if  cherished.  They  see,  at  once,  that  they  cannot 
cultivate  such  sentiments,  and  live  as  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  do.  There  are  pleasures,  and 
it  may  be  sins,  which  must  be  abandoned.  There 
are  companions  who  must  be  avoided.  There  is 
the  opposition  of  friends,  the  ridicule  of  associates, 
the  loss  of  rank,  to  be  encountered.  All  the  hor 
rors  of  a  religious  life  present  themselves  to  the 
imagination,  and  frighten  the  half  awakened  from 
considering  their  ways  which  they  know  to  be 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


85 


out  the  first  step  in  what  appears  a  long  and  painful 
journey.  They  therefore  struggle  against  their 
convictions,  and  in  general  master  them.  This 
struggle  is  sometimes  short;  at  others,  it  is  pro¬ 
tracted  and  painful.  Victory  however  comes  at 
last,  and  the  soul  regains  its  wonted  unconcern. 
Such  persons  little  know  what  they  are  doing. 
They  little  suspect  that  they  are  struggling  to  elude 
the  grasp  of  mercy  ;  that  they  are  striving  against 
the  Spirit  of  God,  who  would  draw  them  from  the 
paths  of  destruction,  and  guide  them  into  the  way 
of  life. 


Sectiox  it.  Sophistical  objections  against  the  doctrine 
of  the  Bible. 

Another  cause  of  the  indifference  of  men  may 
be  found  in  the  objections  which  they  urge  against 
the  truth.  Such  objections  indeed  are  more  fre¬ 
quently  and  effectually  urged  to  perplex  the  advo¬ 
cates  of  religion,  than  to  quiet  the  uneasiness  of 
conscience.  Still  men  endeavour  to  impose  upon 
themselves  as  well  as  to  embarrass  others.  And 
the  objections  referred  to,  doubtless  are  often  obsta¬ 
cles  in  the  way  of  the  inquirer  ;  or  opiates  to  the 
consciences  of  those  who  desire  to  be  deceived.  It 
is  objected  that  we  are  what  God  made  us ;  that 
our  character  is  determined  either  by  our  original 

8 


86 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


constitution,  or  by  the  circumstances  in  which  we 
are  placed,  and  therefore  we  cannot  be  responsible 
for  it ;  that  inasmuch  as  neither  our  belief  nor  our 
affections  are  under  the  control  of  the  will,  we 
cannot  be  accountable  for  either;  that  it  is  useless 
to  use  means  to  escape  the  judgment  of  God,  since 
Vhat  is  to  be,  will  be ;  that  we  must  wait  till  God 
sees  fit  to  change  our  hearts,  since  it  is  declared  in 
Scripture  to  be  his  work. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  and  similar  objec¬ 
tions  relate  to  the  reconciliation  of  different  truths, 
and  not  to  their  separate  validity  or  evidence.  The 
proposition  that  men  are  responsible  for  their  moral 
character,  taken  by  itself,  is  so  capable  of  demon¬ 
stration,  that  all  men  do  in  fact  believe  it.  Every 
man  feels  it  to  be  true  with  regard  to  himself,  and 
know^s  it  to  be  true  with  regard  to  others.  All  self- 
condemnation  and  self-approbation  rest  on  the  con¬ 
sciousness  of  this  truth.  All  our  judgments  regard¬ 
ing  the  moral  conduct  of  others  are  founded  on  the 
same  assumption.  It  is,  therefore,  one  of  those 
truths  which  is  included  in  the  universal  conscious¬ 
ness  of  men,  and  has  in  all  ages  and  nations  been 
assumed  as  certain.  Men  cannot  really  doubt  it,  if 
they  would.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  less  cer-'* 
tain  that  our  character  does  depend  in  a  measure 
upon  circumstances  beyond  our  control ;  upon  our 
original  constitution,  upon  education,  upon  prevalent 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


87 


habits  and  opinions,  upon  divine  influence,  &c. 
All  this  is  proved  by  experience  and  observation 
Here  then  are  two  facts  resting  on  independent 
evidence,  each  certain  and  each  by  itself  securing 
general  assent.  Yet  we  see  men  constantly  disposed 
to  bring  up  the  one  against  the  other ;  and  argue 
against  their  responsibility,  because  they  are  de¬ 
pendent,  or  against  their  dependence,  because  they 
are  responsible. 

In  like  manner  the  proposition  that  man  is  a  free 
agent  commands  immediate  and  universal  assent, 
because  it  is  an  ultimate  fact  of  consciousness.  It 
can  no  more  be  doubted  than  we  can  doubt  our  own 
existence.  Side  by  side  however  with  this  inti¬ 
mate  persuasion  of  our  moral  liberty,  lies  the  con- 
viction,  no  less  intimate,  of  our  inability  to  change, 
by  merely  willing  to  do  so,  either  our  belief  or  our 
affections,  for  which,  as  before  stated,  every  man 
knows  himself  to  be  responsible.  Perhaps  few 
men, — perhaps  no  man, — can  see  the  harmony  of 
these  truths ;  yet  they  are  truths,  and  as  such  are 
practically  acknowledged  by  all  men. 

Again,  all  experience  teaches  us  that  we  live  in 
a  world  of  means,  that  knowledge,  religion,  happi¬ 
ness,  are  all  to  be  sought  in  a  certain  way,  and  that 
to  neglect  the  means  is  to  lose  the  end.  It  is,  how 
ever,  no  less  true  that  there  is  no  necessary  or  cer¬ 
tain  connection  between  the  means  and  the  end ; 


88 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


that  God  holds  the  result  in  his  own  hands  and 
decides  the  issues  according  to  his  sovereign  plea¬ 
sure.  In  all  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  men  submit 
to  this  arrangement  and  do  not  hesitate  to  use 
means,  though  the  end  is  uncertain  and  beyond 
their  control.  But  in  religion,  they  think  this 
uncertainty  of  the  result  a  sufficient  excuse  for 
neglect. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  method  of  reasoning,  or 
rather  of  cavilling,  ,which  consists  in  bringing  up 
one  well  established  truth  against  another,  is  un¬ 
worthy  of  a  rational  being.  We  ought  to,  (and 
practically,  we  must)  receive  every  truth  on  its  own 
evidence.  If  we  cannot  reconcile  one  fact  with 
another,  it  is  because  of  our  ignorance ;  better  in¬ 
structed  men  or  higher  orders  of  beings  may  see 
their  perfect  harmony.  Our  want  of  such  know¬ 
ledge  does  not  in  the  least  impair  the  force  of  the 
evidence  on  which  they  separately  rest.  In  every 
department  of  knowledge  the  number  of  irrecon- 
cileable  truths  depends  on  the  progress  of  the  stu¬ 
dent.  That  loose  matter  flies  off  from  revolving 
bodies,  and  that  every  thing  adheres  to  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  notwithstanding  its  rapid  revolution, 
are  irreconcilable  facts  to  one  man,  though  not  to 
another  That  two  rays  of  light  should  produce 
darkness,  or  two  sounds  cause  silence,  are  facts 
which  many  may  be  entirely  unable  to  reconcile 


TO ‘THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


89 


with  other  facts  of  which  they  are  certain,  while 
the  philosopher  sees  not  only  their  consistency,  but 
that  they  are  the  necessary  consequences  of  the 
same  cause. 

If  the  evidence  of  the  constant  revolution  of  the 
earth  round  its  axis  were  presented  to  a  man,  it 
would  certainly  be  unreasonable  in  him  to  deny 
the  fact,  merely  because  he  could  not  reconcile  it 
with  the  stability  of  every  thing  on  the  earth’s  sur¬ 
face.  Or  if  he  saw  two  rays  of  light  made  to 
produce  darkness,  must  he  resist  the  evidence  of 
his  senses  because  he  knows  that  two  candles  give 
more  light  than  one  ?  Men  do  not  commonly  act 
thus  irrationally  in  physical  investigations.  They 
let  each  fact  stand  on  its  own  evidence.  They  strive 
to  reconcile  them  and  are  happy  when  they  succeed. 
But  they  do  not  get  rid  of  difficulties  by  denying 
facts. 

If  in  the  department  of  physical  knowledge  we 
are  obliged  to  act  upon  the  principle  of  receiving 
every  fact  upon  its  own  evidence,  even  when  unable 
to  reconcile  one  with  another,  it  is  not  wonderful 
that  this  necessity  should  be  imposed  upon  us  in 
those  departments  of  knowledge,  which  are  less 
within  the  limits  of  our  powers.  It  is  certainly 
irrational  for  a  man  to  reject  all  the  evidence  of  the 
spirituality  of  the  soul,  because  he  cannot  reconcile 
with  that  doctrine  the  fact  that  a  disease  of  the 


90 


CAUSES  OV  INDIFFERENCE 


body  disorders  the  mind.  Must  I  do  violence  to 
my  nature  in  denying  the  proof  of  design  afforded 
by  the  human  body,  because  I  cannot  account  for 
the  occasional  occurrence  of  deformities  of  struc¬ 
ture  ?  Must  I  harden  my  heart  against  all  the 
evidence  of  the  benevolence  of  God,  which  streams 
upon  me  in  a  flood  of  light  from  all  his  works,  be¬ 
cause  I  may  not  know  how  to  reconcile  that  benevo¬ 
lence  with  the  existence  of  evil  ?  Must  I  deny  my 
free  agency,  the  most  intimate  of  aH  convictions, 
because  I  cannot  see  the  consistency  between  the 
freeness  of  an  act  and  the  certainty  of  its  occur¬ 
rence  ?  Must  I  deny  that  I  am  a  moral  being,  the 
very  glory  of  my  nature,  because  I  cannot  change 
my  character  at  will  ? 

It  is  impossible  for  any  man  to  act,  in  any  depart¬ 
ment  of  knowledge,  upon  the  principle,  on  which 
these  cavilling  objections  to  religion  are  founded. 
From  youth  to  age  we  are  obliged  to  take  each  fact 
as  it  comes,  upon  its  own  evidence,  and  recancile  it 
with  other  facts,  as  best  we  may. 

The  unreasonableness  of  this  method  of  arguing 
is  further  evident  from  the  consideration  that  if  it 
were  universally  adopted  it  would  render  all  pro¬ 
gress  in  knowledge  impossible.  It  would  be  tanta¬ 
mount  to  a  resolution  to  know  nothing  until  we 
know  all  things ;  for  our  knowledge  at  first  is  con¬ 
fined  to  isolated  facts.  To  classify  and  harmonize 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  '  9j 

these  facts,  is  the  slow  work  of  the  student’s  life 
This  is  a  most  benevolent  arrangement  ol  provi¬ 
dence.  It  at  once  stimulates  the  desire  of  knowledge 
and  imposes  on  us  the  constant  exercise  of  faith. 
And  it  is  in  virtue  of  these  tvvo  important  princi¬ 
ples  of  our  nature  that  all  valuable  knowledge  is 
obtained.  The  desire  of  knowing  not  merely  facts, 
but  their  relations  and  harmony,  leads  to  the  con¬ 
stant  effort  to  increase  the  number  of  known  truths 
and  to  obtain  an  insight  into  their  nature ;  and  the 
necessity  we  are  under  of  believing  what  we  cannot 
understand,  or  cannot  reconcile,  cultivates  the  habit 
of  faith ;  of  faith  in  evidence,  faith  in  the  laws  of 
our  nature,  faith  in  God.  I't  is  thus  our  heavenly 
Father  leads  us  along  the  paths  of  knowledge  ;  and 
he  who  refuses  to  be  thus  led,  must  remain  in 
ignorance.  God  deals  with  us  as  children  ;  though 
as  rational  children.  He  does  not  require  us  to 
believe  without  evidence  ;  but  he  does  require  us 
to  believe  what  we  cannot  understand,  and  whafwe 
cannot  reconcile  with  other  parts  of  knowledge. 
This  necessity  of  implicit  faith  is  not  confined  to 
any  one  department  of  knowledge,  but  as  already 
stated,  is  constantly  demanded  with  regard  to  all. 
The  simplest  objects  in  the  physical  world  are  sur¬ 
rounded  with  mysteries.  A  blade  of  grass  has 
wonders  about  it  which  no  philosopher  can  clear 
up  ;  no  man  can  tell  what  fixes  the  type  of  each 


92 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


species  of  plant  or  animal;  by  what  process  thf 
materials  of  leaf  and  flower  are  selected  and  ar 
ranged  ;  whence  the  beautiful  tints  are  borrowed  or 
how  applied  ;  what  conducts  the  silent  process  of 
formation  of  the  eye  or  hand.  Every  thing  we  see  is, 
even  to  the  most  enlightened,  the  index  of  some¬ 
thing  unknown  and  inscrutable. 

If  the  visible  and  tangible  forms  of  matter  are 
replete  with  things  past  finding  out,  what  may  we 
expect  when  we  turn  our  eyes  on  the  world  of 
Spirits?  Even  that  little  world  in  our  own  bosoms 
which  is  pervaded  by  our  own  consciousness,  the 
facts  of  which  are  most  intimately  known,  is  full 
of  wonders ;  of  phenomena  which  we  can  neither 
comprehend  nor  reconcile.  Who  can  understand 
the  secret  union  of  the  soul  and  body,  which  es¬ 
tablishes  their  reciprocal  influence  ?  Why  should 
the  emotion  of  shame  suffuse  the  cheek,  or  that  of 
fear  send  the  blood  to  the  heart?  Why  does  the 
soul  suffer  if  the  body  be  injured  ?  What  concep¬ 
tion  can  we  form  either  of  matter  or  mind  which 
is  consistent  with  their  mutual  influence  and  com¬ 
munion  ?  The  operations  of  our  rational  and  moral 
faculties  are  not  less  beyond  our  comprehension. 
We  know  certain  facts,  but  the  reason  of  them,  or 
their  consistency  we  cannot  understand.  We  know 
that  certain  feelings  follow  certain  perceptions  ;  the 
feeling  of  confidence  the  perception  of  truth  ;  th 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


93 


teeling  of  pleasure  the  perception  of  beauty ;  the 
feeling  of  approbation  the  perception  of  what  is 
morally  right.  Why  these  feelings  should  thus 
rise  no  one  can  tell.  Such  are  the  laws  of  our  being ; 
laws  which  we  did  not  originate  and  which  we 
cannot  control.  That  is,  we  cannot  prevent  the 
feeling  of  confidence  or  faith,  attending  the  percep¬ 
tion  of  truth,  nor  that  of  pleasure,  the  perception  of 
beauty,  nor  that  of  approbation,  the  perception  of 
moral  rectitude  Yet  the  consciousness  of  self¬ 
agency  mingles  with  all  these  operations.  We  are 
free  in  being  subject  to  the  laws  of  our  own  nature. 
The  necessity  under  which  we  form  such  judg¬ 
ments  or  exercise  such  feelings  produces  no  sense 
of  bondage.  In  these  involuntary  or  necessary 
judgments  or  feelings,  however,  our  moral  character 
is  largely  concerned.  If  two  men  see  an  act  of 
cruelty,  and  the  one  smiles  at  it,  and  the  other  is 
indignant,  no  sophistry  can  prevent  our  condemn¬ 
ing  the  former  and  approving  the  latter.  The  feeling 
excited  by  the  act  arises  in  each  spontaneously  and 
by  an  inward  necessity  which  neither,  at  the  mo¬ 
ment,  can  control.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact 
does  not  interfere  with  our  judgment  in  the  case. 
A.nd  that  judgment  is  not  merely  that  the  feeling 
which  produced  the  smile,  is  an  indication  of  a 
state  of  mind,  or  of  previous  conduct  worthy  of 
disapprobation,  but  that  the  feeling  itself  was 


94 


CAUSE  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


wrong.  Moreover  the  feeling  of  disapprobation 
which  arises  thus  spontaneously  in  our  bosoms,  at 
this  delight  in  suffering,  is  itself  a  moral  feeling. 
We  should  condemn  ourselves  if  it  did  not  arise, 
we  approve  ourselves  because  of  it.  There  are 
therefore,  in  our  own  breasts,  enigmas  which  we 
cannot  solve,  depths  which  we  cannot  fathom. 
Must  we  then,  in  order  to  be  rational,  deny  these 
facts  ?  Must  we  maintain  that  our  nature  is  an 
illusion  and  our  constitution  a  falsehood  ?  Shall 
we,  on  the  one  hand,  deny  that  we  are  subject  to 
the  laws  of  our  being,  or,  on  the  other,  that  the  acts 
which  result  from  those  laws  are  not  our  own,  do 
not  express  our  character  nor  involve  responsibility  ? 
This  happily  cannot  be  done,  for  faith  in  our  own 
consciousness  is  one  of  the  laws  of  our  nature  from 
which  we  can  never  effectually  emancipate  our¬ 
selves. 

If  then  there  are  in  our  own  nature  so  many 
things  which  we  cannot  comprehend,  how  can  we 
expect  to  understand  God,  to  know  the  reasons  and 
relations  of  his  acts,  or  to  be  able  to  reconcile  in 
all  cases  his  works  with  his  attributes  ?  To  do  this 
would  require  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  God 
than  we  have  of  ourselves.  It  would  require  a 
comprehension  of  his  purposes  and  of  the  mode  in 
which  he  accomplishes  them.  It  would  require  in 
short  a  knowledge  which  no  creature  can  possess. 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN 


95 


For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save 
the  spirit  of  man  that  is  in  him  ?  Even  so  the  things 
of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God. 
We  then,  who  are  the  least  and  lowest  of  God’s 
rational  creatures,  may  well  expect  to  be  required 
to  live  by  faith  ;  to  receive,  as  true,  on  his  authority, 
much  that  we  cannot  understand  and  cannot  recon 
cile.  It  is  not  however  blind  belief  which  is  re¬ 
quired  of  us.  We  are  not  required  to  believe  any 
thing  without  adequate  evidence  ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  .we  are  not  allowed  to  reject  any  thing  simply 
because  we  cannot  understand  it.  We  must  not 
reject  the  existence  of  God,  because  we  cannot 
comprehend  self-existence ;  we  must  not  deny  his 
eternity,  becau'^p  we  cannot  conceive  of  duration 
without  succession,  nor  his  omnipresence,  because 
we  cannot  see  how  a  being  can  be  equally  and  en¬ 
tirely  in  all  places  at  the  same  time ;  nor  om¬ 
niscience,  because  we  cannot  see  how  free  acts  can 
be  foreknown.  In  like  manner  we  are  not  required 
to  believe  in  God’s  goodness  without  abundant 
evidence  of  his  benevolence ;  but  we  are  re¬ 
quired  to  believe  it,  whether  we  can  reconcile  it 
with  the  existence  of  evil  or  not.  We  are  not 
required  to  believe  in  the  providence  of  God  without 
evidence,  but  our  being  unable  to  reconcile  his 
government  with  our  liberty,  is  no  rational  ground 
of  unbelief  The  same  remark  might  be  made  with 


96 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


regard  to  the  apostas}  of  our  race  and  the  corrup¬ 
tion  of  our  nature ;  our  inability  and  obligation  to 
obedience ;  the  necessity  of  divine  influence  and 
the  use  of  means.  We  are  required  to  believe 
nothing  on  these  or  any  other  subjects  without  ade¬ 
quate  proof,  but  we  are  not  allowed  to  make  our 
iofnorance  of  the  relations  of  these  truths  an  excuse 
for  either  unbelief  or  disobedience.  God  gives  to 
the  glow  worm  light  enough  to  see  its  own  path, 
though  not  enough  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  the 
night.  Thus  too  he  shows  us  where  to  put  our 
foot  down  in  each  successive  step  towards  heaven, 
though  he  may  not  enable  us  to  comprehend  the 
Almighty  unto  perfection. 

It  may  be  said  that  we  have  not  answered  one  of 
all  the  objections  to  which  reference  has  so  often 
been  made.  We  have  done  far  better  than  answer 
them,  if  we  have  made  the  reader  feel  the  necessity 
of  an  humble,  trustful  spirit  towards  God.  This  is 
the  appropriate  state  of  mind  for  every  learner, 
whether  in  the  school  of  nature  or  of  Christ.  It 
is  that  state  which  the  feebleness  of  our  powers  and 
the  difficulty  of  the  things  to  be  learned,  render 
not  only  reasonable  but  indispensable.  A  second 
impression  which  we  have  laboured  to  produce  is, 
that  it  is  one  of  our  primary  duties  to  submit  to  the 
truth,  to  form  the  purpose  and  to  cherish  the  habit 
of  yielding  the  mind  to  evidence.  Faith  without 


A 

I 

r 

X 


■  ( 

•* 


\ 

I 

'r 

j 

>) 


f 

¥ 

•/ 
4  ' 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


97 


evidence  is  irrational ;  but  unbelief  in  despite  of 
evidence  is  not  less  so.  There  is  a  great  difference, 
in  the  temper  of  different  men  in  relation  to  this 
subject.  Some  resist  the  truth  as  long  as  they  can  ; 
they  cavil  at  it  and  oppose  it.  Others  are  candid 
and  docile ;  they  are  willing  to  admit  the  force  of 
proof  as  far  as  they  perceive  it.  This  is  the  only 
way  in  which  true  knowledge  can  be  obtained.  It 
is  thus  the  philosopher  is  accustomed  to  act.  He 
carefully  interrogates  nature  for  facts ;  these  facts 
are  received ;  they  are  classified  and  harmonized 
as  far  as  the  investigator  is  able  thus  to  reconcile 
them.  But  he  rejects  none  because  he  cannot  make 
it  fit  into  a  system.  He  waits  for  further  light.  It 
is  thus  we  are  bound  to  act.  We  too  are  called 
upon  to  receive  every  truth  upon  its  own  evidence  ; 
to  harmonize  our  knowledge  where  we  can,  but  to 
reject  nothing  simply  because  of  our  ignorance  of 
its  consistency  with  other  truths. 

A  third  lesson  which  it  is  very  important  for  us 
to  learn  is,  what  is  adequate  evidence  of  truth  and 
when  we  are  bound  to  rest  satisfied.  This  may  be 
a  question  which  it  is  difficult  to  decide  ;  but  as 
far  as  religion  is  concerned  the  case  is  sufficiently 
plain.  By  the  laws  of  our  being  we  are  impera¬ 
tively  required  to  confide  in  the  well  ascertained 
testimony  of  our  senses  ;  to  rely  upon  the  veracit^f 
of  our  own  consciousness ;  to  receive  the  unim 

9 


98 


CAT.SES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


peachable  testimony  of  our  fellow  men,  and  to 
abide  by  those  truths  which  are  matters  of  intuitive 
perception,  or  the  necessary  conclusions  of  reason. 
These  are  laws  of  belief  impressed  upon  our  con¬ 
stitution  by  our  creator ;  and  are  therefore  the 
authoritative  expressions  of  his  will.  To  refuss 
obedience  to  these  laws  is,  then,  not  only  un¬ 
reasonable,  it  is  rebellion  against  God.  They  are 
the  adamantine  bars  by  which  he  has  closed  up  the 
way  to  universal  scepticism  ;  and  those  who  break 
through  them  do  but  prematurely  enter  upon  the 
outer  darkness.  We  are  obliged  then  as  rational 
beings  to  receive  every  truth  which  rests  upon  the 
testimony  of  our  senses,  upon  the  authority  of  con¬ 
sciousness,  the  unimpeachable  testimony  of  wit¬ 
nesses,  or  the  intuitive  perceptions  or  necessary 
deductions  of  reason.  Whether  we  can  systematize 
and  reconcile  all  the  truths  thus  arrived  at,  is  a  very 
different  question.  Our  obligation  to  receive  them 
does  not  rest  upon  this  power,  but  upon  the  evi¬ 
dence  afforded  for  each  separate  truth.  Our  con¬ 
sciousness  tells  us  that  we  are  sinners ;  it  also 
informs  us  of  our  helplessness.  We  may  fight 
against  one  or  the  other  of  these  truths  as  the 
ocean  chafes  the  rocks.  They  cannot  be  moved. 
Wlien  the  mind  has  been  drugged  with  false  phi¬ 
losophy,  it  may  for  a  time  disbelieve.  But  the 
infidelity  lasts  no  longer  than  the  intoxication.  As 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


99 


(  soon  as  the  man  is  sober,  the  truth  re-appears  in 
[.  greater  clearness  and  authority  than  ever.  Nothing 
1  therefore  can  be  eventually  gained  by  resistance  lo 
I  the  truth,  and  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  submit  at 
I  once  to  the  laws  of  belief  which  God  has  impressed 
upon  our  nature. 

I  Besides  this  rule  of  faith,  (if  it  may  be  so  called,) 
which  God  has  given  us  in  the  constitution  of  our 
nature,  we  have  his  word  and  his  providence,  au- 
’  thenticated  by  all  kinds  of  adequate  testimony. 
There  can  be  no  higher  ground  of  faith  than  the 
authority  of  God.  Even  confidence  in  the  testimony 
of  our  senses  or  the  dictates  of  consciousness,  re¬ 
solves  itself  into  confidence  in  the  veracity  of  God, 
by  whom  the  laws  of  nature  have  been  established. 
Any  truth  therefore  which  is  sustained  by  a  well 
authenticated  revelation  of  God,  or  upon  the  actual 
dispensations  of  his  providence,  must  be  considered 
as  fully  established;  and  every  objection  which 
can  be  shown  to  militate  against  either,  must  be 
considered  as  fully  answered.  It  was  thus  that  the 
sacred  writers  answered  objections.  It  was  enough 
for  them  that  God  asserted  any  truth,  or  actually 
exercised  any  prerogative.  Any  further  vindication 
tliey  deemed  unnecessary.  We  should  act  on  the 
same  principle  and  quietly  submit  to  all  that  God 
says  and  to  all  he  does.  Some  men  complainingly 
ask.  Why  were  we  born?  Surely  it  is  enough  tl  at 


100 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


they  are  born.  The  fact  cannot  be  denied,  whether 
they  can  see  the  wisdom  and  design  of  their  crea¬ 
tion  or  not.  Or  they  ask,  Why  were  we  born  in  a 
state  of  sin,  or  in  a  world  in  which  sin  is  universal 
and  inevitable  ?  This,  to  human  reason,  may  be  a 
question  impossible  to  answer.  But  as  the  fact 
stares  us  in  face,  is  there  any  use  in  denying  it  ? 
But  it  is  further  asked.  If  we  are  born  in  such  a 
state  that  either  from  our  nature  or  circumstances 
sin  is  inevitable  and  universal,  how  can  we  be 
responsible  ?  Whatever  difficulty  there  may  be  in 
showing  how  we  are  responsible,  there  is  no  doubt 
as  to  the  fact.  We  feel  ourselves  to  be  responsible, 
and  can  no  more  free  ourselves  of  the  conviction 
than  we  can  get  rid  of  the  consciousness  of  exist¬ 
ence.  Where  then  is  the  wisdom  of  quarrelling 
with  facts  ?  Why  should  we  spend  our  lives  like 
a  wild  beast  in  a  cage  forever  chafing  against  the 
bars  of  its  prison,  which  nevertheless  remain  ?  Let 
us  learn  to  submit  to  what  we  see  to  be  true ;  let  us 
remember  that  our  knowledge  does  not  embrace  all 
truth ;  that  things  may  be  perfectly  consistent  with 
each  other  and  with  the  attributes  of  God,  though 
we  may  not  see  how.  Our  knowledge  will  con¬ 
tinually  increase ;  and  those  facts  which  give  us 
most  difficulty  will  be  found  to  be  so  analogous 
10  others,  the  justice  of  which  we  are  able  to  re 
30gnise,  that  if  we  never  come  to  see  all  things  in 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


101 


their  harmony,  we  shall  at  least  see  that  they  must 
be  consistent,  being  parts  of  that  system  which  is 
every  where  luminous  with  the  manifestations  of 
the  wisdom  and  love  of  God.  Let  us  remember 
that  we  are  children,  the  children  of  God,  that  he 
gives  us  abundant  evidence  of  every  thing  which 
he  requires  us  to  believe,  though  he  renders  it  ne¬ 
cessary  for  us  to  exercise  confidence  in  him,  to  feel 
assured  that  what  he  says  is  true  and  that  what  he 
does  is  right ;  that  though  clouds  and  darkness  may 
be  round  about  him,  justice  and  judgment  are  the 
habitation  of  his  throne. 

The  last  general  remark  to  be  made  in  reference 
to  these  objections,  is,  that  they  are  almost  always 
dishonestly  urged  ;  that  is,  they  are  urged  with 
an  inward  conviction  of  their  fallacy.  As  in 
nany  cases  we  know  things  to  be  true,  which  we 
cannot  prove,  so  we  often  know  objections  to  be 
fallacious  which  we  cannot  answer.  If  a  man 
denies  his  own  existence,  or  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong,  it  is  in  vain  to  argue  with  him. 
There  can  be  nothing  plainer  than  the  truth  denied, 
and  therefore  there  can  be  no  means  of  proving  it 
So  also,  if,  to  escape  the  charge  of  guilt,  he  denies 
his  responsibility,  he  denies  a  fact  of  consciousness, 
which  cannot  possibly  be  made  plainer.  Or  if  he 
plead  his  inability  as  an  excuse  for  not  'cpenting 
kind  obeying  God,  he  presents  a  plea  vhich  lie 

9^ 


102 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


knows  has  no  validity.  He  knows  that  however 
real  this  inability  may  be,  it  is  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  afford  no  excuse  for  his  continuing  in  sin,  be¬ 
cause  the  conviction  of  its  reality  co-exists,  in  his 
own  consciousness,  with  a  sense  of  guilt.  It  is  a 
plea  therefore  that  does  not  avail  at  the  bar  of  his 
own  conscience,  and  he  knows  that  it  will  not  avail 
at  the  bar  of  God.  In  like  manner,  when  men 
object  to  the  strictness  of  the  divine  law,  they  do 
so  with  the  inward  persuasion  of  the  righteousness 
of  that  law.  Its  requirements  commend  themsel'^s 
to  their  conscience.  They  know  that  as  God  is 
infinitely  wise  and  good,  it  is  right  that  we  should 
regard  him  wita  supreme  affection,  and  implicitly 
submit  to  all  his  directions. 

All  such  cavilling  objections,  men  know  to 
be  false.  God  has  not  left  himself  without  a 
witness.  His  voice  has  an  authority  which  we 
cannot  resist.  When  he  tells  us  we  are  sinners, 
we  know  it  to  be  true.  When  he  tells  us  that  we 
are  worthy  of  death,  we  know  it  to  be  a  righteous 
judgment.  When  he  tells  us  that  we  have  no 
strength  to  save  ourselves  and  that  our  salvation 
depends  upon  his  will,  we  know  it  to  be  even  so. 
Whenever  he  reveals  himself  our  mouths  are  shut, 
not  from  f^ar  merely,  but  from  an  intimate  per¬ 
suasion  of  the  justice  of  all  his  ways.  It  is 
then,  both  foolish  and  wicked  to  urge  objections 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


103 


against  the  truth,  which  we  ourselves  know  to  be 
futile,  whether  this  be  done  with  a  view  to  perplex 
our  fellow-men,  or  in  the  vain  endeavour  to  silence 
the  accusations  of  conscience  and  the  word  of 
God. 

Such  is  the  power  of  truth  that  neither  the  natura 
insensibility  of  the  heart,  nor  the  w'ant  of  considera¬ 
tion,  nor  the  direct  efforts  which  men  make  to  sup¬ 
press  serious  thoughts,  nor  the  whole  array  of 
sophistical  objections,  can  avail  to  counteract  the 
secret  conviction  in  the  breast  of  the  impenitent 
that  they  are  in  the  road  to  eternal  death.  This  con¬ 
viction  is  often  very  weak.  When  men  are  en¬ 
grossed  in  the  concerns  of  this  world,  it  is  over¬ 
looked.  Still  it  is  there ;  and  it  is  ever  and  anon 
waking  up  to  trouble  them.  Nor  can  the  sugges¬ 
tion  that  God  is  merciful  and,  peradventure,  will  not 
be  strict  to  mark  iniquity,  quiet  this  uneasy  appre¬ 
hension.  This  suggestion,  therefore,  avails  but  little. 
It  is  counteracted  by  the  sense  of  ill-desert,  by  the 
irrepressible  conviction  that  those  who  commit  sin 
are  worthy  of  death  ;  by  the  plain  declarations  of 
Scripture,  and  by  the  evidence  which  even  provi¬ 
dence  affords  that  God  is  righteous.  The  vague 
apprehension  of  coming  wrath,  therefore,  in  despite 
of  all  their  efforts,  still  haunts  the  path  of  the  im 
penitent.  It  chills  tbsir  joys  and  gathers  strength 


104 


CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 


whenever  the  world  seems  to  be  receding  from  tht  tr 
grasp. 

Most  men  are  driven  to  enter  the  plea  of  guilty 
before  the  bar  of  conscience,  and  content  them* 
selves  with  praying  for  a  delay  of  judgment.  They 
are  forced  to  admit  that  they  are  not  fit  to  die  in 
their  present  state ;  that  they  are  bound  to  comply 
with  the  requirement  of  the  gospel,  but  they  plead 
for  time.  Go  thy  way  for  this  time  ;  when  I  have 
a  more  convenient  season  I  will  call  for  thee.  Con¬ 
science  is  more  easily  deluded  by  this  plea,  which 
seems  to  admit  its  demands,  than  by  any  other.  It 
is,  therefore,  the  most  dangerous  snare  for  souls. 
Men  do  not  reflect  on  the  wickedness  of  pleading 
with  God  for  liberty  to  continue,  a  little  longer  in 
sin ;  to  be  allowed  to  break  his  commandments,  to 
disregard  his  mercies,  to  slight  his  love,  and  to 
injure  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness.  They 
do  not  think  of  the  indignation  with  which  they 
w^ould  reject  such  a  plea  from  an  ungrateful  and 
disobedient  son  or  servant.  Nor  do  they  remember 
that  every  such  ict  of  procrastination  is  a  great 
aggravation  of  their  guilt,  as  it  supposes  a  con¬ 
sciousness  of  the  evil  of  their  present  course  and  a 
recognition  of  the  righteousness  of  all  the  demands 
of  God.  Nor  do  they  consider  that  the  difficulties 
which  beset  the  path  of  their  return  to  God  are  al* 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 


105 


increased  by  delay.  If  the  work  of  repentance  be 
irksome  to-day,  it  will  be  more  irksome  to-morrow. 
If  the  heart  be  now  hard,  it  will  become  yet  harder 
by  neglect.  If  the  power  of  sin  be  now  too  strong 
for  us  to  resist,  it  will  become  still  stronger  by  in¬ 
dulgence.  If  the  motives  to  repentance  now  fail  to 
secure  obedience,  they  will  act  with  constantly  in¬ 
creasing  disadvantage  hereafter.  If  God  be  justly 
displeased  now,  he  will  be  more  and  more  displeased 
by  continued  disobedience.  Every  day’s  procras¬ 
tination  thsrefore  increases,  at  a  fearful  rate,  the 
probability  of  our  final  perdi  ion. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

Section  L  Knowledge  of  sin.  Sense  of  personal  tlU 
desert. 

Though  men  are  generally  so  indifTerent  to  their 
sinfulness  and  danger,  it  often  pleases  God  to  arouse 
their  attention,  and  to  produce  a  deep  conviction  ol 
the  truth  of  all  that  the  Bitle  teaches  on  these  sub¬ 
jects.  The  effects  of  such  conviction  are  very 
various,  because  they  are  modified  by  the  tempera 
ment,  the  knowledge,  the  circumstances  and  con¬ 
comitant  exercises  of  those  who  experience  it.  A 
sentence  of  death,  if  passed  upon  a  hundred  men, 
would  probably  affect  no  two  of  them  alike.  The 
mind  of  one  might  fasten  particularly  on  the  turpi¬ 
tude  of  his  crime  ;  that  of  another  upon  the  disgrace 
which  he  had  incurred  ;  that  of  a  third  on  the  suf¬ 
ferings  of  his  friends  on  his  account ;  that  of  a  fouiih 
upon  the  horrors  of  death,  or  upon  the  fearfulness 
of  anpearing  before  God.  All  these  and  many  other 
views,  in  endless  combination,  might  operate  with 

loa 


CONVinTION  OF  SIN. 


107 


different  degrees  of  force  on  each,  and  the  result  be 
still  further  -nodified  by  their  physical  and  moral 
teinperam^^nf  their  knowledge  and  previous  history. 
The  endless  diversity,  therefore,  in  the  experience 
of  men  when  convinced  of  sin,  is  what  might  be 
expected  ;  and  shows  it  to  be  impossible  to  give  any 
description  of  such  experience  that  shall  be  applica 
ble  to  all  cases.  It  will  be  sufficient  briefly  to  state, 
what  the  Scriptures  teach  to  be  necessary  on  this 
subject. 

There  must  be  some  correct  knowledge  of  sin. 
It  is  clearly  die  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  con¬ 
firmed  by  universal  experience,  that  men  are  natu¬ 
rally  exceedingly  blind  on  this  subject.  They  have 
very  inadequate  ideas  of  the  nature  of  this  evil. 
Being  ignorant  of  the  holiness  of  God,  they  do  not 
regard  the  opposition  of  sin  to  his  nature  so  much 
as  its  effects  upon  themselves,  or  upon  society. 
They  judge  of  it  by  a  wrong  standard,  and  hence 
all  their  judgments  respecting  it  are  either  erroneous 
or  defective.  Its  real  nature,  or  the  real  source  of 
its  evil  in  a  great  measure  escapes  their  notice. 
Hence  a  thousand  things  which  are  unquestionably 
sinful,  they  in  general  overlook  or  disregard.  It  is 
not  so  much  the  state  of  the  heart  towards  God,  as 
the  temper  and  deportment  of  one  man  towards  his 
fellow  men,  that  they  consider.  And  therefore  thev 
often  regard  themselves  and  others  as  reallv  good 


108 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


though  they  may  be  destitute  of  any  one  right  senti 
ment  towards  their  maker.  Being  ignorant  of  the 
true  nature  of  sin,  they  have  no  conception  of  the 
number  of  their  transgressions.  .  They  are  disposed 
to  estimate  them  by  the  number  of  positive  or  overt 
acts  of  disobedience  to  the  moral  law  ;  overlooking 
the  habitual  state  of  the  heart,  the  uniform  want  of 
love,  faith,  and  due  reverence  towards  God.  Nor 
have  they  any  adequate  idea  of  the  guilt  of  sin.  It 
is  to  them,  as  it  exists  in  themselves,  comparative* 
ly  a  trifle.  Any  great  concern  about  it,  they  con¬ 
sider  unreasonable  ;  and  when  manifested  by  others, 
hypocritical  or  fanatical.  There  is  a  deceitfulness  m 
sin  by  which  men  are  deluded  so  as  to  form  wrong 
judgments  as  to  its  nature,  its  extent,  its  turpitude 
and  power.  This  delusion  must  be  dispelled. 
The  eyes  must  be  opened  to  see  sin  as  it  is  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  word  of  God,  as  an  exceedingly  evil 
and  bitter  thing,  as  extending  not  merely  to  overt 
acts  or  out-breaks  of  passion,  but  as  deeply  seated 
in  the  heart,  polluting*  at  the  fountain  the  streams 
of  life ;  as  really  deserving  the  punishment  which 
God  has  denounced  against  it ;  and  as  having  such 
hold  upon  the  inward  principles  of  our  nature,  that 
its  power  cannot  be  broken  by  any  ordinary  exer* 
tion. 

This  insight  into  the  Scriptural  account  of  sin  is 
attended  with  a  firm  conviction  of  its  truth ;  and 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


109 


this  conviction  is  inseparable  from  the  hind  of 
Knowledge  of  which  we  are  now  speaking ;  because 
it  IS  in  fact  nothing  but  an  insight  into  the  nature  of 
the  Scriotural  doctrine  as  true,  or  as  accordant  with 
the  moral  nature  which  God  has  given  us.  Men 
therefore  are  not  thus  convinced  either  by  argument 
or  authority.  They  see  and  feel  what  God  has 
declared  concerning  the  nature  and  evil  of  sin  to  be 
true.  Hence  the  conviction  is  irresistible  even 
when  most  unwelcome.  We  often  see  it  taking 
sudden  and  powerful  possession  of  the  soul,  when 
conscience  is  roused  from  its  torpor  mid  assents  to 
the  declarations  of  God,  with  a  force  not  to  be  re¬ 
sisted.  When  Paul  reasoned  of  righteousness, 
temperance  and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled. 
The  truth,  externally  presented,  found  such  a 
response  in  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  governor  that 
lie  could  not  disbelieve.  This  is  in  accordance  with 
daily  experience.  The  cavils  of  men  against  the 
unreasonable  strictness  of  the  divine  law  and  their 
objections  against  the  justice  of  its  awful  penalty 
vanish,  in  a  moment,  when  their  eyes  are  open  to 
see  what  the  law  and  its  violation  really  are.  And 
so  long  as  the  perception  lasts,  the  conviction  re¬ 
mains.  If  they  can  succeed  in  shutting  out  the 
light,  and  in  quieting  conscience  roused  by  its  in¬ 
trusion,  they  oecoine  as  skeptical  as  ever  on  all 
*hese  subjects.  In  manj-  'ases  they  succeed  in 

10 


110 


CONVICTION  01  SIN. 


closing  iheii  eyes  on  what  they  hate  to  see ;  and 
regain  their  former  unbelief.  But  often  this  is  found 
to  be  impossible,  especially  on  the  near  approach 
of  death,  or  when  God  is  about  to  pluck  them  as 
brands  from  the  burning.  Probably  a  day  does  not 
pass  without  some  illustration  of  the  truth  of  these 
remarks.  Men  who  have  long  lived  in  unbelief  oi 
carelessness  are  arrested  by  an  influence  which 
they  can  neither  understand  nor  resist.  There  is 
no  new  revelation,  no  novel  arguments,  no  con¬ 
scious  process  of  reasoning.  There  is  simply  a 
perception  of  the  truth  of  the  declarations  of  God 
concerning  sin.  Against  the  conviction  thence 
rising,  their  old  cavils,  the  arguments  and  assurances 
of  their  friends  have  no  effect.  They  do  not  reach 
the  point.  They  are  addressed  to  something  quite 
foreign  to  the  ground  of  the  conviction,  and  there¬ 
fore  do  not  affect  it.  Though  this  persuasion  of 
the  truth  of  the  Scriptural  doctrine  respecting  sin, 
is  often  temporary,  it  forms  an  essential  part  of  those 
convictions  which  are  abiding  and  saving.  Men 
may  have  this  persuasion  who  never  accept  the 
offers  of  salvation,  but  those  who  do  accept  them 
cannot  be  entirely  without  it. 

This  knowledge  of  sin,  which  enters  so  essen¬ 
tially  into  the  nature  of  true  conviction,  is  derived 
from  the  law,  for  by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of 
sin.  I  had  not  known  sin,  sa’d  the  apostle,  but  by 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


ill 


*he  law.  For  without  the  law,  sin  was  dead.  I 
was  alive  without  the  law  once ;  but  when  the 
commandment  came  sin  revived  and  I  died.  It  is 
clearly  taught  in  these  and  similar  passages,  that 
the  apostle  was  at  one  time  ignorant  of  the  extent 
and  spirituality  of  the  law,  and  consequently  igno¬ 
rant  of  sin.  He  thought  himself  to  be  as  good  as 
could  be  reasonably  expected.  He  was  contented 
and  at  ease.  But  when  the  law  was  revealed  to  him 
in  its  true  character,  his  views  of  sin  were  at  once 
changed.  He  came  to  know  what  it  was,  and  to 
feel  its  power  over  him.  A  thousand  things  which 
before  had  appeared  indifferent  or  trivial,  he  now 
saw  to  be  aggravated  offences  ;  and  especially  the 
secret,  deep-seated  evil  of  his  heart,  which  had 
escaped  his  knowledge  or  regard,  was  detected  as 
the  great  source  of  all  other  sin. 

The  law  is  the  means  of  communicating  this 
knowledge,  because  it  is  an  expression  of  the  per¬ 
fect  holiness  of  God.  So  long  as  men  judge  them¬ 
selves  by  themselves,  and  compare  themselves 
'  among  themselves,  they  will  bo  in  the  dark  as  to 
their  true  character.  It  is  not  until  they  judge 
themselves  by  the  perfect  standard  of  duty  con¬ 
tained  in  the  law  of  God,  that  they  can  have  any 
proper  knowledge  of  their  real  character.  It  is  in 
his  light  that  we  see  light.  It  is  only  when  we 
look  away  from  the  sinful  beings  by  whom  we  are 


112 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


surrounded,  and  feel  ourselves  in  the  presence  of 
the  perfect  purity  of  God,  that  we  are  sensible  ot 
the  extent  of  our  departure  from  the  standard  of 
excellence.  It  is  therefore  both  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  and  the  experience  of  the  people  of  God, 
that  the  knowledge  of  sin  arises  from  the  apprehen¬ 
sion  of  the  divine  excellence  as  revealed  in  the  law. 

There  is  no  doubt  great  diversity  in  the  expe¬ 
rience  of  Christians  as  to  the  clearness  of  their 
views  on  this  subject.  In  some  cases  every  thing 
is  seen  as  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  in  others  there 
is  such  a  discovery  of  the  infinite  excellence  of 
God  and  of  his  law,  as  to  fill  the  mind  with  the 
greatest  reverence  and  self-abasement.  Sometimes 
this  knowledge  steals  upon  the  mind  as  impercepti¬ 
bly  as  the  opening  day ;  at  others,  in  a  moment, 
the  truth  stands  disclosed  in  all  its  awful  purity. 
The  man  who  one  hour  was  unconcerned,  the  next 
is  full  of  astonishment  at  his  former  blindness.  He 
wonders  how  it  was  possible  he  could  be  so  igno¬ 
rant  of  the  excellence  of  God  and  the  perfection  of 
his  law'.  He  is  amazed  at  his  infatuation  in  think¬ 
ing  that  he  w'as  to  be  judged  by  the  common  stan¬ 
dard  of  man’s  judgment,  by  the  low  demands  of  the 
world  or  of  his  associates.  He  now  sees  that  the 
rule  by  which  he  is  to  be  tried  is  infinitely  pure 
and  cannot  overlook  the  least  transgression.  We 
are  no  where  taught  what  degree  of  clearness  ol 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


113 


jhis  knowledge  is  necessary  to  salvation.  We  only 
Know  that  men  must  have  such  a  knowledge  of  sir 
as  to  bring  their  judgments  respecting  it  into  accor 
dance  with  the  declarations  of  God ;  that  instead 
of  that  perpetual  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures  respecting  the  evil  and  extent  of  sin, 
which  men  so  generally  evince,  they  must  be 
brought  to  acquiesce  in  the  truth  and  justice  of  all 
God’s  representations  on  the  subject. 

Besides  this  knowledge  of  sin  and  assent  to  the 
Scriptural  doctrine  on  the  subject,  there  is,  in 
genuine  conviction,  a  sense  of  personal  unworthi¬ 
ness.  This  perhaps  has  been  in  a  measure  antici¬ 
pated,  but  it  deserves  particular  consideration.  Holy 
beings  may  have  a  clear  perception  of  the  truth  as 
presented  in  the  word  of  God  respecting  the  nature 
of  sin,  but  they  can  have  no  sense  of  moral  turpi¬ 
tude.  And  among  men  there  is  often  a  clear  under¬ 
standing  of  the  doctrine  on  this  subject,  and  a 
general  assent  to  its  truth,  without  any  adequate 
conviction  that  what  the  Bible  says  of  sinners  is 
applicable  to  us.  It  is  not  enough  therefore  that 
we  should  know  and  believe  what  the  Scriptures 
teach  respecting  sin,  we  must  feel  that  it  is  all  true 
as  it  regards  ourselves.  There  must  be  an  assent 
of  our  own  consciousness  to  the  declaration  that 
the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desper¬ 
ately  wicked*  that  in  us,  that  is,  in  our  flesh,  then* 

10^ 


114 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


dwelleth  no  good  thing.  This  sense  of  personal 
unwortniness  is  the  principal  part  of  conviction  of 
sin.  It  is  the  opposite  of  that  false  notion  of  our 
own  excellence,  which  we  are  so  prone  to  indulge. 
It  destroys  our  self-complacency  and  eradicates  the 
disposition  to  justify  ourselves,  or  extenuate  our 
guilt. 

The  most  certain  concomitant  of  this  sense  of 
moral  turpitude  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  shame.  0 
my  God,  cried  Ezra  under  a  sense  of  sin,  I  am 
ashamed  and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to  thee  ray 
God,  for  our  iniquities  are  increased  over  our  head, 
and  our  trespass  is  grown  up  unto  the  heavens. 
And  Daniel  said :  0  Lord,  righteousness  belongeth 
unto  thee,  but  unto  us  confusion  of  face  as  at  this 
day.  I  have  heard  of  thee,  said  Job,  with  the 
hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  my  eye  seeth  thee,  and 
I  abhor  myself  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  And 
in  another  piace  he  says  :  Behold  I  am  vile,  what 
shall  I  answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my 
mouth.  The  same  feeling  is  expressed  by  the 
Psalmist,  when  he  says.  Mine  iniquities  have 
taken  hold  upon  me,  so  that  I  cannot  look  up  ;  they 
are  more  than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  therefore,  my 
heart  faileth  me.  The  same  emotion  filled  the 
bosom  of  the  Publican,  when  he  would  not  so 
much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  smote  upon 
bis  breast  and  said,  God  be  merciful  to  mo  a 


sinner. 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


115 


With  this  sense  of  unworthiness  are  mingled,  in 
d  greater  or  less  degree,  the  feelings  of  contrition 
and  remorse  ;  sorrow  for  out'  innumerable  offences, 
and  bitter  self-condemnation.  To  these  are  often 
added  perplexity  and  fear  of  the  wrath  of  God  ;  a 
dread  lest  our  sins  never  can  be  forgiven,  lest  oui 
defilement  never  can  be  washed  away.  No  suffer¬ 
ing  in  this  world  can  exceed  what  the  soul  often 
endures  under  the  pressure  of  these  feelings.  I 
cries  out  with  Paul,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am, 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? 
Or  it  is  forced  to  say  with  Job,  The  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  are  within  me,  the  poison  whereof  drinketh 
up  my  spirits ;  and  the  terrors  of  God  do  set  them¬ 
selves  in  array  against  me.  Or  with  David,  While 
I  suffer  thy  terrors  I  am  distracted ;  thy  fierce 
wrath  goeth  over  me  ;  thy  terrors  have  cut  me  off. 

With  the  inspired  record  of  the  experience  of 
God’s  people  on  this  subject,  we  find  the  language 
of  his  more  eminent  servants  in  later  times  re¬ 
markably  coincident.  The  confessions  of  Augustin 
are  full  of  similar  expressions  of  humiliation  and 
anguish  under  a  sense  of  sin.  And  even  the  stout 
heart  of  Luther  was  so  broken  by  his  inward  suf¬ 
ferings,  that  his  life  was  long  a.  burden  almost  too 
heavy  for  him  to  bear.  But  while  it  is  no  doubt 
true  that  it  is  the  natural  tendency  of  correct  appre¬ 
hensions  of  our  real  character  in  the  sight  of  God  to 


116 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


produce  these  strong  emotions  of  humiliation  and 
sorrow ;  and  while  it  is  no  less  true  that  those  who 
have  made  the  most  eminent  attainments  in  holi¬ 
ness,  have  generally  had  the  largest  share  of  these 
inward  trials,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  are 
necessary  to  the  character  of  a  Christian.  On  ^he 
contrary  a  believing  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  while  it  would  not  prevent 
humiliation  and  penitential  sorrow  on  account  of 
sin,  would  effectually  extract  the  bitterness  of  re¬ 
morse  and  fear  from  the  cnp  of  repentance.  There 
is  no  true  religion  in  these  terrors  and  fearful  ap¬ 
prehensions.  The  death  bed  of  the  impenitent 
often  exhibits  this  sense  of  guilt,  humiliation,  re¬ 
morse,  dread  of  punishment  and  other  indications 
of  an  enlightened  and  awakened  conscience.  And 
in  many  cases  those  who  have  suffered  all  this 
distress,  lose  their  serious  impressions  and  sink 
into  their  former  carelessness.  Though,  therefore, 
the  pain  of  remorse  and  dread  of  the  wrath  of  God 
often  attend  conviction  of  sin,  they  do  not  constitute 
it  In  many  cases  there  is  little  of  this  agitation  of 
feeling.  Perhaps  the  most  frequent  form  of  reli¬ 
gious  experience  on  this  subject  is  a  deep  distress 
on  account  of  the  want  of  an  excitement  of  feeling 
corresponding  with  the  judgment  of  the  under 
standing  and  conscience.  The  common  complaint 
with  many  is  that  they  cannot  feel ;  that  their  hearts 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


117 


are  like  ice  ;  that  the  knowledge  and  perception  of 
their  ingratitude  and  disobedience  produce  little  or 
no  emotion.  Such  persons  would  gladly  exchange 
their  insensibility  for  the  keenest  anguish ;  their 
constant  prayer  is  that  God  would  take  from  them 
their  heart  of  stone,  and  give  them  a  heart  of  flesh. 
This  form  of  experience  is  just  as  consistent  with 
the  nature  of  conviction  of  sin  as  the  other.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  the  testimony  of  conscience  to 
the  justice  of  the  divine  representations  of  our  cha¬ 
racter  and  conduct ;  the  consciousness  and  acknow¬ 
ledgment  that  we  are  what  God  declares  us  to  be. 
Where  this  judgment  of  the  conscience,  or  this 

sense  of  personal  unworthiness  exists,  leading  the 
$ 

sinner  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth  in  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  God,  and  to  bow  at  his  feet  as  undeserving 
of  mercy,  there,  as  far  as  this  point  is  concerned, 

genuine  conviction. 

This  state  of  mind  may  be  produced  in  very 
lifferent  ways.  Sometimes  it  is  the  result  of  a 
calm  review  of  life  and  a  comparison  of  the  habitual 
state  of  the  heart  and  general  course  of  our  conduct 
with  the  law  of  God.  Sometimes,  some  one  offence 
more  than  commonly  aggravated  seizes  upon  the 
conscience  ;  some  broken  vow,  some  neglected  call, 
some  open  sin,  is  made  the  means  of  revealing  the 
man  to  himself.  Whatever  may  be  the  particular 
occasion,  the  mind  is  led  to  fix  itself  on  its  respon 


118 


CONVICTION  01  SIN 


eibility  to  God  and  the  conviction  of  its  guilt  be- 
pomes  settled  and  confirmed.  This  is  necessary  to 
the  sinner’s  return  to  God  So  long  as  he  thinks 
himself  whole,  he  will  not  apply  to  the  physician 
So  long  as  he  regards  his  sins  as  either  few  or 
trivial,  he  will  feel  no  concern  for  pardon  or  sancti¬ 
fication.  But  when  his  eyes  are  opened  and  his 
conscience  aroused,  he  feels  that  his  case  demands 
immediate  and  earnest  attention ;  he  knows  himself 
to  be  unprepared  to  meet  his  God,  that  his  sins  are 
so  great  that  they  cannot  be  forgiven,  unless  he 
obtains  an  interest  in  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Every  true  Christian  is  in  some  way 
brought  to  this  conviction  and  acknowledgment  of 
personal  ill-desert  in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  the  third  place,  conviction  of  sin  includes  a 
conviction  of  our  condemnation  before  God.  A 
sense  of  sin  is  a  sense  of  unworthiness  and  a  sense 
of  unworthiness  involves  a  sense  of  just  exposure 
to  the  divine  displeasure.  It  may  be  proper  to 
notice  three  very  distinct  states  of  mind  in  reference 
to  this  subject.  It  is  very  obvious  that  our  views 
of  the  punishment  due  to  sin,  must  depend  upon 
our  views  of  sin  itself.  If  we  have  inadequate 
apprehensions  of  the  evil  of  sin,  we  shall  have  in¬ 
adequate  apprehciisions  of  the  punishment  which 
it  deserves.  Hence  in  the  great  majority  of  men 
there  is  a  secret  disbelief  of  the  Script'’ral  repre- 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


119 


sentations  on  this  subject.  They  cannot  reconcile 
the  declarations  of  God  respecting  the  doom  of  the 
impenitent  with  their  views  of  his  justice  and  mercy 
and,  therefore,  they  cannot  believe  them.  And  il 
very  often  happens  that  the  sense  of  sin  which 
serious  people  experience  is  insufficient  to  overcome 
this  unbelief,  or  at  least,  the  strong  opposition  of 
the  heart  to  what  the  Bible  teaches  on  this  subject. 
They  feel  that  they  are  sinners,  they  feel  that  they 
deserve  the  displeasure  of  God,  but  they  still  expe¬ 
rience  a  secret  revolting  against  the  dreadful  denun¬ 
ciations  of  the  Scriptures  against  all  sin.  “  To 
submit  to  the  condemning  power  of  the  holy  law 
of  God,”  says  Dr.  Milner,  “is  a  hard  matter,  a 
very  hard  matter  indeed  to  do  this  thoroughly.  My 
understanding  has  shown  me,  for  many  years,  that 
this  was  the  touchstone  of  a  sound  conversion  ; 
and  I  have  been  busy  enough  in  noting  the  defect 
of  it  in  others ;  but  as  to  myself,  if  I  have  got  on 
at  all  in  this  respect,  it  is  very  lately  indeed.  The 
heart  is  sadly  deceitful  here ;  for,  with  Christ's 
salvation  before  one’s  eye,  one  may  easily  fancy 
that  God  is  just  and  equitable  in  condemning  sin¬ 
ners  ;  when  if  you  put  the  case,  only  for  a  moment, 
10  your  own  heart  seriously,  as  a  thing  likely  to 
happen,  the  heart  will  rise  against  such  a  dispensa¬ 
tion ;  perhaps  indeed  with  a  smothered  sort  of  op¬ 
position  and  dislike,  but  which  is  very  steady  and 


120 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


determined.  Nothing  less  than  the  Holy  Ghost 
himself  can  cure  this,  by  showing  us  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.”*  That  the  soul 
should  revolt  at  the  idea  of  its  own  misery,  is  the 
law  of  our  nature,  aud  never  can  be  eradicated. 
This  is  not  the  sentiment  which  it  is  intended  to 
condemn,  but  the  opposition  of  the  heart  to  the 
truth  and  justice  of  God’s  declarations  respecting 
the  punishment  due  to  sin.  It  is  this  opposition, 
this  disposition  to  criminate  God,  to  regard  him  as 
unjustly  severe,  which  ought  to  be  subdued  ;  be¬ 
cause  it  shows  that  our  hearts  are  not  in  harmony 
with  his  word;  that  we  regard  as  unjust  what  he 
pronounces  just.  All  experience  shows  that  this  is 
a  very  common  state  of  mind.  And  its  existence 
proves  that  our  views  of  the  ill-desert  of  sin  have 
not  been  sufficiently  clear  to  bring  us  to  submit  to 
the  plan  which  God  has  revealed  for  our  redemp¬ 
tion  from  deserved  condemnation. 

The  opposite  extreme  to  this  is  the  feeling  that 
our  sins  are  so  great  that  they  cannot  be  forgiven. 
This  is  no  uncommon  persuasion.  When  there  is 
a  clear  discovery  of  the  evil  of  sin,  with  no  com- 
comitant  apprehension  of  the  true  plan  of  salvation, 
despair  is  the  natural  result.  The  judgment  of 
conscience  is  known  to  be  true  when  it  pronounces 


*  Wilberforce’s  Corres;  ondence. 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


121 


our  sins  to  be  deserving  of  death.  And  unless  the 
soul  sees  how  God  can  be  just  and  yet  justify  the 
sinner,  it  cannot  hope  for  mercy.  Nothing  can  be 
more  pitiable  than  a  soul  in  this  condition.  Its 
views  of  the  justice  of  God  and  of  the  evil  of  sin, 
are  neither  false  nor  exaggerated.  It  is  their  truth 
which  gives  them  power,  and  which  renders  futile 
the  soothing  assurances  of  friends  that  God  will  not 
be  so  strict  in  marking  iniquity,  or  that  the  sinner’s 
guilt  is  not  so  arreat  as  he  imagines.  An  enlightened 
conscience  cannot  be  thus  appeased,  and  if  such  be 
the  only  sources  of  consolation  to  which  it  has  ac¬ 
cess,  it  inust  despair. 

In  a  Christian  country,  however,  the  knowledge 
of  the  plan  of  salvation  is  so  generally  diffused; 
that  it  seldom  fails,  even  when  imperfectly  under¬ 
stood,  to  calm  or  restrain  the  apprehensions  of 
God’s  displeasure.  It  is  known  that  God  can  par¬ 
don  sin,  that  there  is  salvation  at  least  for  some, 
for  some  have  been  saved.  And  although  the  sinner 
is  often  disposed  to  think  that  his  is  an  excepted  case, 
or  that  there  is  some  peculiar  aggravation  in  his 
guilt,  which  puts  him  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy, 
yet  he  cannot  be  sure  that  this  is  the  case.  And 
in  his  darkest  hours  the  belief  in  the  possibility  of 
salvation  is  not  entirely  destroyed. 

Between  these  extremes  of  inimical  opposition 
to  the  truth  of  God  as  to  the  just  exposure  of  the 

11 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


sinner  to  condemnation  and  the  despair  of  mercy 
which  arises  from  unbelief,  lies  genuine  conviction 
of  ill-desert.  If  relig'ous  experience  is  the  con¬ 
formity  of  our  judgments  and  feelings  to  the  truths 
that  are  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and  if  it  is  there 
revealed  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  our  judg¬ 
ment  and  feeling  must  assent  to  that  truth  ;  we 
must  admit  that  such  is  the  just  desert  of  sin  and 
of  our  sins.  There  must  be  no  disposition  to  com¬ 
plain  of  the  extent  or  severity  of  the  law  ;  but 
such  a  sense  of  ill-desert  in  the  sight  of  God  as 
shall  lead  us  to  lie  at  his  feet,  sensible  that  he  can 
neither  do  nor  threaten  wrong  and  that  forgiveness 
must  be  a  matter  entirely  of  grace.  It  is  obvious 
that  there  can  be  no  intelligent  acceptance  of  Christ 
as  a  saviour  without  this  conviction  of  our  exposure 
to  condemnation  and  there  can  be  no  conviction  of 
such  exposure,  without  a  perception  of  the  justice 
of  the  penalty  of  the  law.  It  is,  however,  to  be 
remembered  that  there  are  many  things  involved  in 
Christian  experience,  which  may  not  be  the  object 
of  distinct  attention.  It  may,  therefore,  well  hap* 
pen  that  many  pass  from  death  unto  life,  without 
any  lively  apprehension  of  the  wrath  of  God,  or 
any  very  distinct  impression  that  all  that  he  has 
threatened  against  sin  might  be  justly  inflicted 
upon  them.  Their  attention  may  have  been  ar¬ 
rested  and  their  hearts  moved  by  the  exhibition  of 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


vzn 


»iie  love  of  God  in  Christ,  and  they  may  h^ve  been 
conscious,  at  the  time,  of  little  more  than  a  cordia'. 
acquiescence  in  the  gospel,  and  the  desire  and  pur¬ 
pose  to  live  for  the  service  of  God.  Still,  even  in 
such  persons,  as  soon  as  their  attention  is  directed 
to  the  subject,  there  is  a  full  recognition  of  ill- 
desert,  a  readiness  to  acknowledge  that  salvation  is 
a  matter  of  grace,  and  that  they  would  have  no 
right  to  complain  had  they  been  left  to  perish  in 
their  sins.  Diversified,  therefore,  as  may  be  the 
experience  of  God's  people  on  this  subject,  they 
agree  in  acknowledging  the  justice  of  God  in 
his  demands  and  his  threatenings  and  in  regarding 
themselves  as  unworthy  of  the  least  of  all  his 
favours. 

Section  II.  Insufficiency  of  our  own  righteousness  ana 
of  our  own  strength. 

Another  essential  characteristic  of  genuine  con¬ 
viction  is  the  persuasion  that  our  own  good  works 
are  entirely  insufficient  to  recommend  us  to  God,  or 
to  be  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  before  him. 
Since  the  Scriptures  declare  that  we  are  justified 
freely,  not  by  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast, 
but  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  our  experience  must 
accord  with  this  declaration.  We  must  have  such 
views  of  the  holiness  of  God,  of  the  extent  of  his 


124 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


law  and  of  our  own  unworthiness  as  shall  make  us 
fully  sensible  that  we  cannot  by  our  own  works 
secure  either  pardon  or  acceptance.  It  is  easy  to 
profess  that  we  do  not  trust  to  our  own  righteous¬ 
ness,  but  really  to  divest  ourselves  of  all  reliance 
upon  our  supposed  excellence,  is  a  difficult  task. 
When  a  man  is  roused  to  a  sense  of  his  guilt  ana 
danger,  his  first  impulse  is  almost  always  to  fly  to 
any  other  refuge  than  that  provided  in  the  gospel. 
The  most  natural  method  of  appeasing  conscience 
is  the  promise  of  reformation.  Particular  sins  are 
therefore  forsaken,  and  a  struggle,  it  may  be,  is 
maintained  against  all  others.  This  conflict  is  often 
long  and  painful,  but  it  is  always  unsuccessful.  It 
is  soon  found  that  sin,  in  one  form  or  other,  is  con¬ 
stantly  getting  the  mastery,  and  the  soul  feels  that 
something  more  must  be  done  if  it  is  ever  to  make 
itself  fit  for  heaven.  It  is,  therefore,  ready  to  do. 
or  to  submit  to  any  thing  which  appears  necessary 
for  this  purpose.  What  particular  form  of  works 
it  may  be  which  it  endeavours  to  weave  into  a  robe 
of  righteousness,  depends  on  the  degree  of  know¬ 
ledge  which  it  possesses,  or  the  kind  of  religious 
instruction  which  it  receives.  When  greatly  igno¬ 
rant  of  the  gospel,  it  endeavours  by  painful  pen¬ 
ances,  self-imposed,  or  prescribed  by  priestly  au¬ 
thority,  to  make  satisfaction  for  its  sins.  Experience 
teaches  that  there  is  no  extremity  of  self-denial  tc 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


125 


which  a  conscience-stricken  man  will  not  gladly 
submit  as  a  means  of  satisfying  the  demands  of 
God.  If  heaven  were  really  to  be  gained  by  such 
means,  we  should  see  the  road  crowded  by  the 
young  and  old,  the  rich  and  poor,  the  learned  and 
ignorant,  in  multitudes  as  countless  as  these  which 
throng  the  cruel  temples  of  the  Hindoos,  or  which 
perish  on  the  burning  sands  of  Arabia.  This  is 
the  easiest,  the  pleasantest,  the  most  congenial  of 
all  the  methods  of  salvation,  taught  by  the  cunning 
craftiness  of  men.  It  is  no  wonder  tl.at  those  who 
teach  it  as  the  doctrine  of  the  gospd,  should  find 
submissive  hearers.  If  men  can  be  allowed  to 
purchase  heaven,  or  make  atonement  for  past  trans¬ 
gressions,  by  present  suffering,  they  will  gladly 
undertake  it.  This  is  so  congenial  to  the  human 
heart,  that  men  who  are  well  informed,  and  who 
pride  themselves  on  their  independence  of  mind, 
are  scarcely  less  apt  to  be  caught  in  the  meshes  of 
this  net,  than  their  mor^;  ignorant  brethren.  We 
see,  therefore,  statesmen  and  philosophers,  as  weil 
as  peasants,  wearing  sackcloth,  or  walking  bare¬ 
foot,  at  the  bidding  of  their  religious  teachers. 

In  Protestant  countries,  where  the  Bible  is  gene¬ 
rally  accessible,  it  is  rare  to  see  any  such  gross 
exhibitions  of  the  spirit  of  self-ughteousness.  The 
Scriptures  so  clearly  teach  the  method  of  salvation, 
that  almost  every  one  knows  that  at  least  mere 

IP 


126 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


external  works  of  morality  or  discipline  cannot 
avail  to  our  justification  before  God.  We  must 
have  a  finer  robe,  a  robe  composed  of  duties  of  a 
higher  value.  Prayers  are  multiplied,  the  house  of 
God  is  frequented,  the  whole  routine  of  religious 
duties  is  assiduously  attended  to,  under  the  impres¬ 
sion  that  thus  we  shall  satisfy  the  demands  of  God 
and  secure  his  iavour.  Multitudes  are  contented 
with  this  routine.  Their  apprehensions  of  the 
character  and  requirements  of  God,  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  and  of  their  own  ill-desert  are  so  low,  that  this 
remedy  is  adequate  for  all  the  wounds  their  con¬ 
sciences  feel.  The  performance  of  their  social  and 
religious  duties  seems  sufficient,  in  their  view,  to 
entitle  them  to  the  character  of  religious  men  ;  and 
they  are  satisfied.  Thus  it  was  with  Paul,  who 
considered  himself,  as  touching  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  the  law  to  be  blameless.  But  all  his 
strictness  of  moral  duty  and  religious  observance, 
was  discovered  to  be  worthless,  so  far  as  satisfying 
the  demands  of  God  is  concerned.  And  every 
man,  who  is  brought  to  accept  the  offer  of  salva¬ 
tion  as  presented  in  the  gospel,  is  made  to  feel  that 
it  is  not  for  any  thing  which  he  either  does  or  ab¬ 
stains  from  doing,  that  his  sins  are  pardoned  and  his 
person  accepted  before  God.  Nay,  he  sees  that 
what  men  call  their  good  works  are  so  impure,  as 
to  be  themselves  a  ground  of  condemnation.  What 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


127 


are  cold,  wai  Aiering,  selfish,  irreverent  prayers,  but 
offences  against  God,  whom  we  pretend  to  prop! 
tiate,  by  services  which  are  but  a  mockery  of  his 
holiness  ?  And  what  is  any  routine  of  heartless 
observances,  or  if  not  heartless,  at  least  so  imper¬ 
fect  as  to  fail  of  securing  even  our  own  approbation, 
in  the  eyes  of  him  before  whom  the  heavens  are 
unclean?  What  approach  can  such  services  make 
either  towards  satisfying  the  present  demands  of 
God,  or  atoning  for  years  of  neglect  and  sin  ?  It 
requires  but  little  insight  into  the  state  of  his  own 
heart,  or  the  real  character  of  the  divine  law,  to 
convince  the  sinner  that  he  must  have  a  better 
righteousness  than  that  which  consists  of  his  own 
duties  or  observances. 

From  this  foundation  of  sand  the  convinced 
sinner  is,  therefore,  soon  driven,  but  he  betakes 
himself  to  another  refuge  nearer  the  cross,  as  he 
supposes,  and  which  seems  to  require  more  self- 
renunciation.  He  ceases  to  think  of  establishing 
his  own  righteousness,  but  he  still  wishes  to  be 
made  worthy  to  receive  the  righteousness  of  God. 
He  knows  that  he  can  never  cancel  his  debt  of  guilt, 
that  his  best  services  are  unworthy  of  acceptance, 
that  with  all  his  circumspection  he  never  lives  s 
day  in  full  compliance  with  the  just  demands  of  thr 
/aw,  and  consequently  that  his  salvation  must  be  of 
grace,  but  he  still  thinks  he  must  in  some  way 


128 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


merit  that  grace,  or  at  least,  be  prepared  by  some 
observance  or  some  experience  for  its  reception. 
The  distressed  soul  imagines  that  if  it  could  be' 
more  distressed,  more  humbled,  more  touclied  with 
sorrow  or  remorse,  it  might  then  find  acceptance. 
It  sees  that  its  long  course  of  disobedience  and  in¬ 
gratitude,  its  rejection  of  Christ,  its  disregard  of 
mercies  and  warnings,  its  thousand  sins  of  commis¬ 
sion  and  omission,  if  forgiven  at  all,  must  be  gra¬ 
tuitously  pardoned,  but  this  hardness  of  heart,  this 
want  of  due  tenderness  and  penitence,  is  a  sin 
which  must  first  be  got  out  of  the  way,  before  the 
others  can  be  remitted.  It  is,  however,  only  one 
of  the  long,  black  catalogue.  It  can  no  more  be 
separately  conquered  or  atoned  for,  before  coming 
to  Christ,  than  any  other  sin  of  heart  or  life.  It  is 
often  long  before  the  soul  is  brought  to  see  this,  or 
to  feel  that  it  is  really  endeavouring  to  make  itself 
better  before  applying  to  the  physician  ;  to  accom¬ 
plish  at  least  some  preparatory  part  of  salvation  foi 
itself,  so  as  not  to  be  entirely  indebted  to  the  Re¬ 
deemer.  At  last,  however,  the  soul  discovers  its 
mistake  ;  it  finds  that  Christ  does  not  save  sinners 
for  their  tenderness  or  conviction,  that  tears  are  not 
more  worthy  of  acceptance,  than  fasting,  or  alms¬ 
giving  ;  that  it  is  the  unworthy,  the  hard-hearted, 
the  ungodly,  those  who  have  nothing  to  recommend 
them,  that  Christ  came  to  save,  and  whom  he  ac- 


CONHCTION  OF  SIN. 


129 


cepts  in  order  to  render  them  contrite  and  tender¬ 
hearted  and  obedient.  These  graces  are  his  gifts, 
and  if  we  stay  away  from  him  until  we  get  them 
ourselves,  we  must  perish  in  our  sins.  To  this  entire 
self-renunciation,  this  absolute  rejection  of  every 
thing  in  itself  as  the  ground,  or  reason  of  its  ac¬ 
ceptance,  must  the  soul  be  brought  before  it  em¬ 
braces  the  offers  of  the  gospel. 

It  is  included  in  what  has  been  said  that  a  con¬ 
sciousness  of  our  own  weakness  is  a  necessary 
ingredient,  or  consequence  of  true  conviction. 
There  is  not  only  a  giving  up  of  our  own  right¬ 
eousness,  but  of  our  own  strength.  All  that  is 
necessary  here  as  on  other  points,  is  that  we  should 
feel  what  is  true.  If  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible 
that  the  sinner  can  change  his  own  heart,  subdue 
his  sins,  excite  all  right  affections  in  his  heart,  then 
genuine  religious  experience  requires  that  this  truth 
should  be  known,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  specu¬ 
lation,  but  as  a  matter  of  consciousness.  But  if 
the  Scriptures  teach  that  this  change  of  heart  is  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  we  are  born  not  of 
the  will  of  man  but  of  God ;  that  it  is  the  exceed¬ 
ing  greatness  of  the  divine  power  that  operates  in 
them  that  believe,  quickening  those  who  were  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,  creating  them  anew  in  Christ 
Jesus,  so  that  they  are  his  workmanship,  created 
unto  good  works  ;  if  from  one  end  of  the  Scriptures 


130 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


to  the  other  the  internal  work  of  salvation  is  de¬ 
clared  to  be  not  by  the  might,  or  power  of  man, 
but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  then  is  this  one  of 
the  great  truths  of  revelation  of  which  we  must  be 
convinced.  Our  experience  must  accord  with  this 
representation  and  we  must  feel  that  to  be  true  in 
our  case,  which  God  declares  to  be  true  univer 
sally. 

When  a  man  is  brought  to  feel  that  he  is  a  sinner 
that  his  heart  is  far  from  being  right  in  the  sight  of 
God,  he  as  naturally  turns  to  his  own  strength  to 
effect  a  change  and  to  bring  himself  up  to  the 
standard  of  the  law,  as  he  turns  to  his  own  works 
as  a  compensation  for  his  sins,  or  as  a  ground  of 
confidence  towards  God.  His  efforts,  therefore,  are 
directed  to  subdue  the  power  of  sin,  and  to  excite 
religious  feelings  in  his  heart.  He  endeavours  to 
mortify  pride,  to  subdue  the  influence  of  the  body, 
to  wean  himself  from  the  world.  He  gives  up  his 
sinful,  or  worldly  associates ;  he  strengthens  his 
purposes  against  evil ;  he  forces  himself  to  discharge 
the  most  ungrateful  duties  and  exercises  himself  in 
self-denial.  At  the  same  time  he  tries  to  force  him¬ 
self  into  a  right  state  of  mind,  to  make  himself 
believe,  repent,  love  and  exercise  all  the  Christian 
graces  of  meekness,  humility,  brotherly  kindness 
and  charity  ;  that  is,  he  tries  to  make  himself 
-eligious.  He  does  every  thing  in  his  own  strength 


CG'VICTION  OF  SIN. 


.31 


!  and  to  save  himself.  Sometimes  this  course  is  pin- 
I  sued  to  the  end  of  life.  At  others,  it  is  continued 
i  for  years  and  then  found  to  be  all  in  vain.  Wesley 
(  tells  us  this  was  the  kind  of  religion  which  he  had, 
i  until  his  visit  to  America  and  his  intercourse  with 
,  the  Moravians.  This  is  the  religion  of  ascetics, 

I  which  may  be  persevered  in,  through  stress  of  con¬ 
science,  or  fear  of  perdition,  with  great  strictness 
and  constancy.  Almost  every  man  makes  trial  of 

I 

it.  He  will  be  his  own  saviour,  if  he  can.  It  is 
found,  however,  by  those  who  are  taught  of  God, 
to  be  a  hopeless  task.  The  subtle  evil  of  the  heart 
IS  not  to  be  subdued  by  any  such  efforts.  If  we 
force  ourselves  to  forego  the  pleasures  of  sin,  we 
cannot  destroy  the  desire  of  forbidden  joys.  If  we 
refuse  to  gratify  pride,  we  cannot  prevent  its  aspi¬ 
rations.  If  we  relinquish  the  pursuit  of  worldly 
things,  we  still  retain  the  love  of  the  world.  If  we 
force  ourselves  to  perform  religious  duties,  we  can¬ 
not  make  those  duties  a  delight.  If  we  compel 
ourselves  to  think  of  God,  we  cannot  force  ourselves 
to  love  him,  to  desire  communion  with  him,  to  take 
pleasure  in  his  service,  and  to  delight  in  all  his  re¬ 
quirements.  No  one  can  tell  the  misery  arising 
from  these  painful  and  ineffectual  struggles ;  these 
vain  attempts  to  subdue  sin  and  excite  the  Christian 
graces.  If  any  thing  could  be  taken  as  a  substitute 
for  them ;  if  making  many  prayers,  or  submitting 


132 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


to  any  suffering,  could  be  taken  as  an  equivalent,  it 
would  be  gladly  acceded  to.  But  to  change  the 
heart,  to  delight  in  God,  to  be  really  spiritual  and 
holy,  is  a  work  the  sinner  finds  to  be  above  his 
strength  and  yet  absolutely  necessary.  Repeated 
failures  do  not  destroy  his  delusion ;  he  still  thinks 
that  this  is  his  work  and  that  he  must  do  it,  or  be 
lost.  He,  therefore,  struggles  on,  he  collects  all  his 
strength,  and  at  length  suddenly  discovers  it  to  be 
perfect  weakness.  He  finds  that  if  he  is  ever  re¬ 
newed  and  made  holy,  it  must  be  the  work  of  God 
and  he  cries  in  the  depth  of  his  distress.  Lord  save 
me,  or  I  perish.  He  gives  up  working  in  his  own 
strength  and  sees,  what  he  wonders  he  never  saw 
before,  that  the  Christian  virtues  are  really  graces, 
i.  e.  gifts ;  that  they  are  not  excellencies  to  be 
wrought  out  by  ourselves  ;  but  favours  bestowed 
through  Christ  and  for  Christ’s  sake  ;  that  it  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  purchased  and  sent  by  Him  that  is  to 
change  the  heart  and  convince  of  sin,  righteous¬ 
ness  and  judgment;  that  faith,  repentance,  joy, 
peace,  humility  and  meekness  are  the  fruits  of  that 
Spirit,  and  not  the  products  of  our  own  evil  hearts ; 
that  if  we  could  make  ourselves  holy  we  should 
scarcely  need  a  Saviour ;  and  that  it  is  the  greatest 
of  all  delusions  to  suppose  that  we  must  be  holy 
before  we  oome  to  God  through  Christ,  instead  of 
holiness  being  the  result  of  our  reconciliation 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 


133 


While  ue  are  under  tlie  law,  we  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  death.  It  is  not  until  we  are  free  from  the  law 
and  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  that 
we  bring  forth  fruit  unto  righteousness.  This  great 
truth,  though  written  on  every  page  of  the  Bible, 
every  man  has  to  learn  for  himself.  He  cannot  be 
made  to  understand  it  by  reading  it  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  or  by  being  told  it  by  others.  He  must  trj 
his  own  strength  until  he  finds  it  to  be  nothing 
before  he  submits  to  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  God, 
and  bowing  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  in  utter  despair  of 
any  other  helper,  says,  TiOrd  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst 
make  me  clean. 

The  man,  therefore,  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  con¬ 
vinces  of  sin,  he  causes  to  understand  and  believe 
what  God  has  revealed  on  this  subject.  He  makes 
him  feel  that  what  He  declares  to  be  true  of  all 
men,  is  true  of  him ;  that  he  deserves  what  God 
declares  all  men  deserve  ;  that  he  has  no  merit 
to  recommend  him  to  God  and  no  strength  to 
change  his  own  heart.  This  knowledge  the  Spirit 
communicates  through  the  law,  which  by  present¬ 
ing  the  perfect  rule  of  duty,  shows  us  how  far  short 
we  come  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  how  often  and 
justly  we  have  incurred  its  penalty  ;  which  con¬ 
vinces  us  that  we  are  entirely  unable  to  comply 
with  its  righteous  demands,  and  that  no  mere  ob¬ 
jective  presentation  of  what  is  holy,  just  and  good 

12 


134 


CONVICTION  )F  SIN. 


can  change  the  heart,  or  destroy  the  power  of  in* 
dwelling  sin;  since  even  when  we  see  the  excel¬ 
lence  of  the  law  we  do  not  conform  to  it  and  c-annot 
do  the  things  that  we  would,  but  ever  find  a  law  in 
our  members  warring  against  the  law  of  our  minds 
and  bringing  us  into  subjection  to  the  law  of  sin. 
It  is  thus  that  the  law  is  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  us 
to  Christ;  to  drive  us  from  every  refuge  of  our  own 
righteousness  and  strength,  to  Him  who  is  made  of 
God,  unto  those  that  believe,  both  justification  ind 
sanctification. 


CHAPTER  V. 


JUSTIFICATION. 

Section  I.  Importance  of  the  doctrine.  Explanation 
of  the  Scriptural  terms  relating  to  it.  Justification  is  not 
by  works. 

The  state  of  mind  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  cannot  be  long  endured.  Some  way  of 
satisfying  the  demands  of  conscience  must  be 
adopted.  When  the  mind  is  enlightened  by  divine 
truth  and  duly  impressed  with  a  sense  of  guilt, 
it  cannot  fail  anxiously  to  enquire.  How  can  a  man 
be  just  with  God  ?  The  answer  given  to  this  ques¬ 
tion  decides  the  character  of  our  religion,  and  if 
practically  adopted,  our  future  destiny.  To  give  a 
wrong  answer,  is  to  mistake  the  way  to  heaven. 
It,  is  to  err  where  error  is  fatal,  because  it  cannot  be 
corrected.  If  God  require  one  thing  and  we  present 
another,  how  can  we  be  saved  ?  If  he  has  revealed 
a  method  in  which  he  can  be  justand  yet  justify  the 
sinner,  and  if  we  reject  that  metb 'd  and  insist  upon 

135 


136 


JUSTIFICATION. 


pursuing  a  different  way,  how  can  we  hope  to  be 
accepted  ?  The  answer,  therefore,  which  is  given 
to  the  above  question  should  be  seriously  pondered 
by  all  who  assume  the  office  of  religious  teachers, 
and  by  all  who  rely  upon  their  instructions.  As 
we  are  not  to  be  judged  by  proxy,  but  every  man 
must  answer  for  himself,  so  every  man  should  be 
satisfied  for  himself  what  the  Bible  teaches  on  this 
subject.  All  that  religious  teachers  can  do,  is  to 
endeavour  to  aid  the  investigations  of  those  who 
are  anxious  to  learn  the  way  of  life.  And  in  doing 
this,  the  safest  method  is  to  adhere  strictly  to  the 
instructions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  exhibit  the  sub-  , 
ject  as  it  is  there  presented.  The  substance  and 
the  form  of  this  all-important  doctrine  are  so  inti¬ 
mately  connected,  that  those  who  attempt  to  sepa¬ 
rate  them,  can  hardly  fail  to  err.  What  one  discards 
as  belonging  merely  to  the  form,  another  considers 
as  belonging  to  its  substance.  All  certainty  an( 
security  are  lost,  as  soon  as  this  method  is  adopted,  , 
and  it  becomes  a  matter  to  be  decided  exclusively 
by  our  own  views  of  right  and  wrong,  what  is  to 
be  retained  and  what  rejected  from  the  Scriptural 
representations.  Our  only  security, ‘therefore,  is  to 
take  the  language  of  the  Bible  in  its  obvious  mean¬ 
ing,  and  put  upon  it  the  construction  which  the 
persons  to  whom  it  was  addressed  must  have  given 


JUSTIFICATION. 


137 


and  which,  consequently,  the  sacred  writers  in¬ 
tended  It  should  bear. 

As  the  doctrine  of  justification  is  not  only  fre¬ 
quently  stated  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  but  formally 
taught  and  vindicated,  all  that  will  be  attempted  in 
this  chapter,  is  to  give,  as  faithfully  as  possible,  a 
representation  of  what  the  inspired  writers  inculcate 
on  this  subject;  that  is,  to  state  what  positions 
they  assume,  by  what  arguments  they  sustain  those 
positions,  how  they  answer  the  objections  to  their 
doctrine  and  what  application  they  make  of  it  to 
the  hearts  and  consciences  of  their  readers. 

It  is  one  of  the  primary  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
everywhere  either  asserted  or  assumed,  that  we  are 
under  the  law  of  God.  This  is  true  of  all  classes 
of  men,  whether  they  enjoy  a  divine  revelation  or 
not.  Every  thing  which  God  has  revealed  as  a 
rule  of  duty  enters  into  the  constitution  of  the  law 
which  binds  those  to  whom  that  revelation  is  given, 
and  by  which  they  are  to  be  ultimately  judged. 
Those  who  have  not  received  any  external  revela 
tion  of  the  divine  will,  are  a  law  unto  themselves 
The  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong,  written  upoii 
their  hearts,  is  of  the  nature  of  a  divine  law,  having 
its  authority  and  sanction,  and  by  it  the  heathen  are 
to  be  judged  in  the  last  day. 

God  has  seen  fit  to  annex  the  promise  of  life  to 
obedience  to  his  law'.  The  man  that  doeth  these 

12-* 


138 


JUSTIFICATION. 


things  shall  live  by  them,^  is  the  language  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  on  this  subject.  To  the  lawyer  who  admitted 
that  the  law  required  love  to  God  and  man,  our  Sa¬ 
viour  said,  Thou  hast  answered  right.  This  do, 
and  thou  shalt  live.t  And  to  one  who  asked  him, 
What  good  thing  shall  I  do  that  I  may  have  eternal 
life  ?  he  said.  If  thou  wouldst  enter  into  life,  keep 
the  commandments.:!:  On  the  other  hand,  the  law 
denounces  death  as  the  penalty  of  transgression. 
The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  Such  is  the  uniform 
declaration  of  Scripture  on  this  subject. 

The  obedience  which  the  law  demands,  is  called 
righteousness  ;  and  those  who  render  that  obedi¬ 
ence  are  called  righteous.  To  ascribe  righteous 
ness  to  any  one,  or  to  pronounce  him  righteous,  is 
the  scriptural  meaning  of  the  word  to  justify.  The 
tvord  never  means  to  make  good  in  a  moral  sense, 
Dut  always  to  pronounce  just  or  righteous.  Thus 
God  says,  I  will  not  justify  the  wicked. §  Judges 
are  commanded  to  justify  the  righteous  and  to  con¬ 
demn  the  wicked. II  Wo  is  pronounced  on  those 
who  justify  the  wicked  for  a  reward.^  In  the  New 
Testament  it  is  said.  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall 
no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight.* **  It  is  God  who 

*  Rom.  X.  5.  Luke  x.  28.  t  Matt.  xix.  17 

§  Ex.  xxiii.  7.  |  Deut.  xxv.  1.  ^  Is.  v.  23. 

**  Rom  iii.  20. 


JUS'IIFICATION. 


139 


jiistifielh,  who  is  he  that  condemneth?*  There  is 
scarcely  a  word  in  the  Bible  the  meaning  of  which 
is  less  open  to  doubt.  There  is  no  passage  in  the 
New  Testament  in  which  it  is  used  out  of  its  ordi¬ 
nary  and  obvious  sense.t  When  God  justifies  a 
man,  he  declares  him  to  be  righteous.  To  justify 
never  means  to  render  one  holy.  It  is  said  to  be 
sinful  to  justify  the  wicked;  but  it  could  never  be 
sinful  to  render  the  wicked  holy.  And  as  the 
law  demands  righteousness,  to  impute  or  ascribe 
righteousness  to  any  one,  is  in  scriptural  language 
to  justify.  To  make  (or  constitute)  righteous,  is 
another  equivalent  form  of  expression.  Hence 
to  be  righteous  before  God,  and  to  be  justified, 
mean  the  same  thing;  as  in  the  following  passage, 
Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  righteous  before 
God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 
The  attentive,  and  especially  the  anxious  reader  of 
the  Bible  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  these  various 
expressions,  to  be  righteous  in  the  sight  of  God,  to 
impute  righteousness,  to  constitute  righteous,  to 
justify,  and  others  of  similar  import,  are  so  inter¬ 
changed  as  to  explain  each  other,  and  to  make  it 

*  Rom.  viii.  33,  34. 

■\  Revelation  xxii.  11,  is  probably  no  exception  to  thw 
remark,  as  the  text  n  that  passage  is  uncertain. 

t  Rom.  ii.  13. 


140 


JUSTIFICATION. 


clear  that  to  justify  a  man  is  to  ascribe  or  impute 
to  him  righteousness.  The  great  question  then  is 
How  is  this  righteousness  to  be  obtained?  We 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  the  answer  which 
the  Bible  gives  to  this  question  is  so  perfectly 
plain. 

In  the  first  place,  that  the  nghteousness  by  which 
we  are  to  be  justified  before  Ood  is  not  of  works, 
is  not  only  asserted  but  proved.  The  apostle’s 
first  argument  on  this  point  is  derived  from  the  con¬ 
sideration  that  the  law  demands  a  perfect  righteous¬ 
ness.  If  the  law  was  satisfied  by  an  imperfect 
obedience,  or  by  a  routine  of  external  duties,  or  by 
any  service  which  men  are  competent  to  render, 
then  indeed  justification  would  be  by  works.  But 
since  it  demands  perfect  obedience,  justification  by 
works  is,  for  sinners,  absolutely  impossible.  It  is 
thus  the  apostle  reasons.*  As  many  as  are  of  the 
works  of  the  law,  are  under  the  curse.  For  it  is 
written,  cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them. 
As  the  law  pronounces  its  curse  upon  every  man  who 
continues  not  to  do  all  that  it  commands,  and  as  no 
man  can  pretend  to  this  perfect  obedience,  it  follows 
that  all  who  look  to  the  law  for  justification  must 
be  condemned.  To  the  same  effect  in  the  follow- 


*  Gal.  iii.  10. 


JUSTIFICATION 


141 


mg  verse,  he  says,  The  law  is  not  of  faith,  but  the 
man  that  doeth  them  shall  live  by  them.  That  is, 
the  law  is  not  satisfied  by  any  single  grace  or  im¬ 
perfect  obedience.  It  knows  and  can  know  no 
other  ground  of  justification  than  complete  com¬ 
pliance  with  its  demands.  Hence  in  the  same 
chapter,  Paul  says.  If  there  had  been  a  law  which 
could  have  given  life,  verily  righteousness  would 
have  been  by  the  law.  Could  the  law  pronounce 
righteous,  and  thus  give  a  title  to  the  promised 
life  to  those  who  had  broken  its  commands, 
there  would  have  been  no  necessity  of  any  other 
provision  for  the  salvation  of  men ;  but  as  the  law 
cannot  thus  lower  its  demands,  justification  by  the 
law  is  impossible.  The  same  truth  is  taught  in  a 
different  form,  when  it  is  said.  If  righteousness 
come  by  the  law,  Christ  is  dead  in  vain.'^  There 
would  have  been  no  necessity  for  the  death  of 
Christ,  if  it  had  been  possible  to  satisfy  the  law 
by  the  -  imperfect  obedience  which  we  can  render. 
Paul  therefore  warns  all  those  who  look  to  works 
for  justification  that  they  are  debtors  to  do  the 
whole  law.t  It  knows  no  compromise  ;  it  cannot 
demand  less  than  what  is  right,  and  perfect  obe¬ 
dience  is  right,  and  therefore  its  only  language  is  as 
before.  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 


*  Gal.  ii.  21 


I  Ibid  V.  3 


142 


;USTIFI»  ATION. 


all  things  writterv  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 
them  ;  and,  The  man  that  doeth  those  things  shall 
live  by  them.  Every  man,  therefore,  who  expects 
justification  by  works,  must  see  to  it,  not  that  he 
is  better  than  other  men,  or  that  he  is  very  exact 
and  does  many  things,  or  that  he  fasts  twice  in  the 
week,  and  gives  tithes  of  all  he  possesses,  but  tha* 

he  is  SINLESS. 

That  the  law  of  God  is  thus  strict  in  its  demands 
is  a  truth  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  Paulk 
reasoning  in  reference  to  the  method  of  justifica¬ 
tion.  He  proves  that  the  Gentiles  have  sinnea 
against  the  law  written  on  their  hearts  ;  and  that 
the  Jews  have  broken  the  law  revealed  in  their 
Scriptures;  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  therefore  are 
under  sin,  and  the  whole  world  is  guilty  before 
God.  Hence  he  infers  that  by  the  deeds  of  the 
law  there  shall  ro  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight. 
There  is,  however,  no  force  in  this  reasoning,  ex¬ 
cept  on  the  assumption  that  the  law  demands  per¬ 
fect  obedience.  How  many  men,  who  freely 
acknowle  Ige  that  they  are  sinners,  depend  upon 
their  works  for  acceptance  with  God  !  They  see 
no  inconsistency  between  the  acknowledgment  of 
sin,  and  the  expectation  of  justification  by  works. 
The  reason  is,  they  proceed  upon  a  very  different 
principle  from  that  adopted  by  the  apostle.  They 
suppose  that  the  law  may  be  satisfied  by  very  ira 


JUSTIFICATION. 


143 


perfect  obedience.  Paul  assumes  that  God  demands 
perfect  conformity  to  his  will,  that  his  wrath  is 
revealed  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteous¬ 
ness  of  men.  With  him  therefore  it  is  enough 
that  men  have  sinned,  to  prove  that  they  cannot  be 
justified  by  wmrks.  It  is  not  a  question  of  de¬ 
grees,  more  or  less,  for  as  to  this  point  there  is  no 
difference,  since  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of 
the  glory  of  God. 

This  doctrine,  though  so  plainly  taught  in  scrip¬ 
ture,  men  are  disposed  to  think  very  severe.  They 
imagine  that  their  good  deeds  will  be  compared 
with  their  evil  deeds,  and  that  they  will  be  re¬ 
warded  or  punished  as  the  one  class  or  the  other  pre¬ 
ponderates  ;  or  that  the  sins  of  one  part  of  life  may 
be  atoned  for  by  the  good  works  of  another ;  or 
that  they  can  escape  by  mere  confession  and  repent¬ 
ance.  They  could  not  entertain  such  expectations, 
if  they  believed  themselves  to  be  under  a  law. 
No  human  law  is  administered  as  men  seem  to  hope 
(he  law  of  God  will  be.  He  who  steals  or  murders, 
though  it  be  but  once,  though  he  confesses  and 
repents,  though  he  does  any  number  of  acts  of 
charity,  is  not  less  a  thief  or  murderer.  The  law 
cannot  take  cognizance  of  his  repentance  and  re¬ 
formation.  If  he  steals  or  murders  the  law  con 
•iemns  him  Justification  by  the  law  is  for  him 
impossible.  The  law  of  God  extends  to  the  mos 


144 


JUSTIFICATION. 


secret  exercises  of  the  heart.  It  condemns  what 
ever  is  in  its  nature  evil.  If  a  man  violate  this 
perfect  rule  of  right,  there  is  an  end  of  justification 
by  the  law ;  he  has  failed  to  comply  with  its  condi¬ 
tions  ;  and  the  law  can  only  condemn  him.  To 
justify  him,  would  be  to  say  that  he  had  not  trans 
grossed.  Men  however  think  that  they  are  not  to 
be  dealt  with  on  the  principles  of  strict  law.  Here 
is  their  fatal  mistake.  It  is  here  that  they  are  in 
most  direct  conflict  with  the  Scriptures,  which  pro¬ 
ceed  upon  the  uniform  assumption  of  our  subjection 
to  the  law.  Under  the  government  of  God,  strict 
law  is  nothing  but  perfect  excellence ;  it  is  the 
steady  exercise  of  moral  rectitude.  Even  con¬ 
science,  when  duly  enlightened  and  roused,  is  as 
strict  as  the  law  of  God.  It  refuses  to  b#^  appeased 
by  repentance,  reformation,  or  penance.  It  en¬ 
forces  every  command  and  every  denunciation  of 
our  Supreme  Ruler,  and  teaches,  as  plainly  as  do 
the  Scriptures  themselves,  that  justification  by  an 
imperfect  obedience  is  impossible.  As  conscience 
however  is  fallible,  no  reliance  on  this  subject  is 
placed  on  her  testimony.  The  appeal  is  to  the 
word  of  God ;  which  clearly  teaches  that  it  is 
impossible  a  sinner  can  be  justified  by  works, 
because  the  law  demands  perfect  obedience. 

The  apostle’s  second  argument  to  show  that 
justification  is  not  by  works,  is  tiie  testimony  of 


JUSTIFICATION. 


145 


the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  This  testi¬ 
mony  is  urged  in  various  forms.  In  the  first  place, 
as  the  apostle  proceeds  upon  the  principle  that  the 
law  demands  perfect  obedience,  all  those  passages 
wdiich  assert  the  universal  sinfulness  of  men,  are 
so  many  declarations  that  they  cannot  be  justified 
by  works.  He  therefore  quotes  such  passages  as 
the  following:  There  is  none  righteous,  no  not 
one.  There  is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is 
none  that  seeketh  after  God.  They  are  all  gone 
out  of  the  way  ;  they  are  altogether  become  un¬ 
profitable  ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not 
one.*  The  Old  Testament,  by  teaching  that  all 
men  are  sinners,  does,  in  the  apostle’s  view,  thereby 
teach  that  they  can  never  be  accepted  before  God 
on  the  ground  of  their  own  righteousness.  To  say 
that  a  man  is  a  sinner,  is  to  say  that  the  law  con¬ 
demns  him  ;  and  of  course  it  cannot  justify  him. 
As  the  ancient  Scriptures  are  full  of  declarations 
of  the  sinfulness  of  men,  so  they  are  full  of  proof 
that  justification  is  not  by  works. 

But  in  the  second  place,  Paul  cites  their  direct 
affirmative  testimony  in  support  of  his  doctrine.  In 
the  Psalms  it  is  said.  Enter  not  into  judgment  with 
thy  servant;  for  in  thy  sight  shall  no  man  living 
be  justified.!  This  passage  he  often  quotes ;  and 


la 


*  Rom.  iii.  10,  12. 


•  !  Ps.  cxliii.  2. 


146 


JUSTIFICATION. 


to  the  same  class  belong  all  those  passages  which 
speak  of  the  insufficiency  or  worthlessness  of  hu¬ 
man  righteousness  in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  the  third  place,  the  apostle  refers  to  those 
passages  which  imply  the  doctrine  for  which  he 
contends  ;  that  is,  to  those  which  speak  of  the  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  men  with  God  as  a  matter  of  grace,  as 
something  which  they  do  not  deserve,  and  for 
which  they  can  urge  no  claim  founded  upon  their 
own  merit.  It  is  with  this  view  that  he  refers 
to  the  language  of  David  ;  Blessed  are  they 
whose  iniquities  are  forgiven,  and  wdiose  sins  are 
covered.  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord 
will  not  impute  sin.  The  fact  that  a  man  is  for¬ 
given  implies  that  he  is  guilty ;  and  the  fact  that  he 
is  guilty,  implies  that  his  justification  cannot  rest 
upon  his  own  character  or  conduct.  It  need  hardly 
be  remarked,  that  in  this  view,  the  whole  Scrip¬ 
tures,  from  beginning  to  the  end,  are  crowded  with 
condemnations  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
works.  Every  penitent  confession,  every  appeal  to 
God’s  mercy,  is  a  renunciation  of  all  persona) 
merit,  a  declaration  that  the  penitent’s  hope  was 
not  founded  on  any  thing  in  himself.  Such  con¬ 
fessions  and  appeals  are  indeed  often  made  by  those 
who  still  rely  upon  their  good  works,  or  inherent 


*  Rom.  iv.  7,  8. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


147 


:i  righteousness,  for  acceptance  with  God.  This, 
I  however,  does  not  invalidate  the  apostle’s  argument. 
I  It  only  shows  that  such  persons  have  a  different 
j  view  of  what  is  necessary  for  justification,  from 
i  that  entertained  by  the  apostle.  They  suppose 
!  that  the  demands  of  the  law  are  so  low,  that  although 
they  are  sinners  and  need  to  be  forgiven,  they  can 
still  do  what  the  law  demands.  Whereas.  Paul 
proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  the  law  requires 
perfect  obedience,  and  therefore  every  confession 
of  sin,  or  appeal  for  mercy,  involves  a  renunciation 
of  justification  by  the  law. 

Again,  the  apostle  represents  the  Old  Testament 
as  teaching  that  justification  is  not  by  works,  by 
showing  that  they  inculcate  a  different  method  of 
obtaining  acceptance  with  God.  This  they  do  by 
the  doctrine  which  they  teach  concerning  the  Mes¬ 
siah  as  a  Redeemer  from  sin.  Hence  Paul  says 
that  the  method  of  justification  without  works,  (not 
founded  upon  works)  was  testified  by  the  law  and 
the  prophets,  that  is,  by  the  whole  of  the  Old  Tes¬ 
tament.  The  two  methods  of  acceptance  with  God, 
the  one  by  works  the  other  by  a  propitiation  for  sin, 
are  incompatible.  And  as  the  ancient  Scriptures 
teach  the  latter  method,  they -repudiate  the  former. 
But  they  moreover,  in  express  terms,  assert,  That 
tne  just  shall  live  by  faith.  And  the  law  knows 
nothing  of  faith ;  its  language  is.  The  man  tha 


148 


JUSTIFICATION. 


doeih  them  shall  live  by  them.*  The  law  knows 
nothing  of  any  thing  but  obedience  as  the  ground 
of  acceptance.  If  the  Scriptures  say  we  are  ac¬ 
cepted  through  faith,  they  thereby  say  that  we  are 
not  accepted  on  the  ground  of  obedience. 

Again,  the  examples  of  justification  given  in  the 
Old  Testament,  show  that  it  was  not  by  works.  The 
apostle  appeals  particularly  to  the  case  of  Abraham, 
and  asks.  Whether  he  attained  justification  by 
works  ?  and  answers.  No,  for  if  he  were  justified 
by  works  he  had  whereof  to  glory,  but  he  had 
no  ground  of  glorying  before  God,  and,  therefore, 
he  was  not  justified  by  works.  And  the  Scriptures 
expressly  assert,  Abraham  believed  God  and  it 
was  imputed  to  him  foi  righteousness.  His  ac¬ 
ceptance,  therefore,  was  by  faith  and  not  by  works. 

In  all  these  various  ways,  does  the  apostle  make 
the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament  sustain  his  doc¬ 
trine  that  justification  is  not  by  works.  This 
authority  is  as  decisive  for  us  as  it  was  for  the  an¬ 
cient  Jewish  Christians.  We  also  believe  the  Old 
Testament  to  be  the  word  of  God,  and  its  truths 
come  to  us  explained  and  enforced  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles.  We  have  the  great  advantage  of  ar 
infallible  interpretation  of  these  early  oracles  of 
truth,  and  the  argumentative  manner  in  which  theii 


•  Gal  iii.  11,  12. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


149 


'  ituthority  is  cited  and  applied  prevents  all  obscurity 

■  _ 

ji  as  to  the  real  intentions  of  the  sacred  writers.  That 

'  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall  be  justified 

I  before  God,  is  taught  so  clearly  and  so  frequently 

!  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  so  often  asserted,  so 

I  formally  proved,  so  variously  assumed,  that  no  one 

I  can  doubt  that  such  is  indeed  the  doctrine  of  the  word 

1  of  God.  The  only  point  on  which  the  serious  inqui- 

1  rer  can  even  raise  a  question,  is  what  kind  of  works 

I  do  the  Scriptures  mean  to  exclude  as  the  foundation 

i  for  acceptance  wdth  God.  Does  the  apostle  mean 

works  in  the  widest  sense,  or  does  he  merely  intend 

I  ceremonial  observances,  or  works  of  mere  formality 

performed  without  any  real  love  to  God  ? 

Those  who  attend  to  the  nature  of  his  assertions 
and  to  the  course  of  his  argument,  will  find  that 
there  is  no  room  for  doubt  on  this  subject.  The 
primary  principle  on  which  his  argument  rests  pre- 
I  eludes  all  ground  for  mistaking  his  meaning.  He 
assumes  that  the  law  demands  perfect  obedience, 
and  as  no  man  can  render  that  obedience,  he  infers 
that  no  man  can  be  justified  by  the  law.  He  does 
not  argue  that  because  the  law  is  spiritual  it  cannot 
be  satisfied  by  mere  ceremonies  or  by  works  flow¬ 
ing  from  an  impure  motive.  He  no  where  says, 
that  though  we  cannot  be  justified  by  external  rites, 
cr  bv  works  having  the  mere  form  of  goodness,  we 
are  justified  by  our  sincere  though  imperfect  obe- 


150 


JUSTIFICATION. 


dieiice  On  the  contrary  he  constantly  teaches, 
that  since  we  are  sinners  and  since  the  law  con¬ 
demns  all  sin,  it  condemns  us,  and  justification  by 
the  law  is,  therefore,  impossible.  This  argument 
he  applies  to  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles  without 
distinction,  to  the  whole  world,  whether  they  knew 
any  thing  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures  or  not.  It  was 
the  moral  law,  the  law  which  he  pronounced  holy, 
just  and  good,  which  says.  Thou  shalt  not  covet ; 
it  is  this  law,  however  revealed,  whether  in  the 
writings  of  Moses,  or  in  the  human  heart,  of  which 
he  constantly  asserts  that  it  cannot  give  life,  or  teach 
the  way  of  acceptance  with  God.  As  most  of  those 
to  whom  he  wrote  had  enjoyed  a  divine  revelation, 
and  as  that  revelation  included  the  law  of  Moses 
and  all  its  rites,  he  of  course  included  that  law  in 
his  statement  and  often  specially  refers  to  it;  but 
never  in  its  limited  sense  as  a  code  of  religious  cere¬ 
monies,  but  always  in  its  widest  scope  as  including 
the  highest  rule  of  moral  duty  made  known  to 
men.  And  hence  he  never  contrasts  one  class  of 
works  with  another,  but  constantly  works  and  faith, 
excluding  all  classes  of  the  former,  works  of  right¬ 
eousness  as  well  as  those  of  mere  formality  Not 
by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done, 
but  according  to  his  mercy  he  hath  saved  us.=^ 


*  Titus  iii.  6 


JUSTIFICATION. 


151 


'  /ho  hath  saved  us  not  according  to  our  works. ^ 
We  are  saved  bj’  faith,  not  by  works.T  Nay,  men 
are  said  to  be  justified  without  works;  to  be  in 
themselves  ungodly  when  justified ;  and  it  is  not 
until  they  are  justified  that  they  perform  any  really 
good  works.  It  is  only  when  united  to  Christ  that 
we  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  Hence  we  are  said 
to  be  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto 
good  works.  All  the  inward  excellence  of  the 
Christian  and  the  fruits  of  the  spirit  are  the  conse¬ 
quences  and  not  the  causes  of  his  reconciliation  and 
acceptance  with  God.  They  are  the  robe  of  beauty, 
the  white  garment,  with  which  Christ  arrays  those 
who  come  to  him  poor  and  blind  and  naked.  It  is 
then  the  plain  doctrine  of  the  word  of  God  that  oui 
justification  is  not  founded  upon  our  own  obedience 
to  the  law.  Nothing  done  by  us  or  wrought  in  us 
can  for  a  moment  stand  the  test  of  a  rule  of  right¬ 
eousness  which  pronounces  a  curse  upon  all  those, 
who  continue  not  in  all  things  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them. 

Section  II.  The  demands  of  the  Law  are  satisfied  by 
what  Christ  has  done. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  the  Scriptures  teach  first 
that  all  men  are  naturally  under  the  law  as  pre 


*  2  Tim.  i.  9. 


t  Eph.  ii.  9. 


152 


JUSTIFICATION. 


scribing  the  terms  of  their  acceptance  with  God 
and  secondly,  that  no  obedience  which  sinners  can 
render  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  that 
law.  It  follows  then  that  unless  we  are  freed  from 
the  law,  not  as  a  rule  of  duty,  but  as  prescribing 
the  conditions  of  acceptance  with  God,  justification 
is  for  us  impossible.  It  is,  therefore,  the  third 
great  point  of  Scriptural  doctrine  on  this  subject, 
that  believers  are  free  from  the  law  in  the  sense  just 
stated.  Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  says  the  apostle, 
but  under  grace.*  To  illustrate  this  declaration  he 
refers  to  the  case  of  a  woman  who  is  bound  to  her 
husband  as  long  as  he  lives,  but  when  he  is  dead, 
she  is  free  from  her  obligation  to  him,  and  is  at 
liberty  to  marry  another  man.  So  we  are  deliver¬ 
ed  from  the  law  as  a  rule  of  justification,  and  are 
at  liberty  to  embrace  a  different  method  of  ob¬ 
taining  acceptance  with  God.t  Paul  says  of  him- 
self,J  that  he  had  died  to  the  law,  i.  e.  become  free 
from  it.  And  the  same  is  said  of  all  believers. §  He 
insists  upon  this  freedom  as  essential  not  only  to 
justification  but  to  sanctification.  For  while  under 
the  law,  the  motions  of  sin,  which  were  by  the  law, 
brought  forth  fruit  unto  death,  but  now  we  are 
delivered  from  the  law  that  we  may  serve  God  in 


*  Rom.  vi.  14. 
;  Gal  ii.  19. 


j"  Rom.  vii.  1,  6. 
§  Rom.  vii.  G 


JUSTIFICATION. 


153 


newness  of  spirit.*  Before  faith  came  we  were 
kept  under  the  law,  which  he  compares  to  a  school¬ 
master,  but  now  we  are  no  longer  under  a  school- 
master.t  He  regards  the  desire  to  be  subject  to  the 
law  as  the  greatest  infatuation.  Tell  me,  he  says 
ye  that  desire  to  be  under  the  law,  Do  ye  not  hear 
the  law  ?  and  then  shows  that  those  who  are  under 
the  demands  of  a  legal  system,  are  in  the  condition 
of  slaves  and  not  of  sons  and  heirs.  Stand  fast, 
therefore,  he  exhorts,  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  us  free.  Behold  I  Paul  say  unto 
you,  .that  if  ye  be  circumcised  Christ  shall  profit 
you  nothing.  For  1  testify  to  every  one  that  is  cir¬ 
cumcised  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law. 
Christ  has  become  of  no  effect  to  you  ;  whosoever 
of  you  are  justified  by  the  law,  ye  are  fallen  from 
grace. J  This  infatuation  Paul  considered  mad¬ 
ness,  and  exclaims,  O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath 
bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth, 
before -whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  hath  been  evi¬ 
dently  set  forth,  crucified  among  you  ?  This 
only  would  I  learn  of  you.  Received  ye  the  Spirit 
by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of 
faith  ?§  This  apostasy  was  so  fatal,  the  substitution 
of  legal  obedience  for  the  work  of  Christ  as  the 
ground  of  justification,  was  so  destructive,  that  Paul 


*  Rom  viL  5,  6. 
+  Gal.  V.  1,  4 


Gal.  iii.  24,  25. 
§  Gal.  iii.  1,  2. 


I 


154  JUSTIFICATION. 

pronounces  accursed  any  man  or  angel  who  should 
preach  such  a  doctrine  for  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God. 

It  was  to  the  law,  as  revealed  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  that  the  fickle  Galatians  were  disposed  to 
look  for  justification.  Their  apostasy,  however, 
consisted  in  going  back  to  the  law,  no  matter  in 
what  form  revealed,  to  works,  no  matter  of  what 
kind,  as  the  ground  of  justification.  The  apostle’s 
arguments  and  denunciations,  therefore,  are  so 
framed  as  to  apply  to  the  adoption  of  any  form  of 
legal  obedience,  instead  of  the  work  of  Christ,  as 
the  ground  of  our  confidence  towards  God.  To 
suppose  that  all  he  says  relates  exclusively  to  a 
relapse  into  Judaism,  is  to  suppose  that  we  Gentiles 
nave  no  part  in  the  redemption  of  Christ.  If  it 
was  only  from  the  bondage  of  the  Jewish  economy 
that  he  redeemed  his  people,  then  those  who  were 
never  subject  to  that  bondage  have  no  interest  in 
his  work.  And  of  course  Paul  was  strangely  in¬ 
fatuated  in  preaching  Christ  crucified  to  the  Gen¬ 
tiles.  We  find,  however,  that  what  he  taught  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  in  special  reference  to 
the  law  of  Moses,  he  teaches  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  in  reference  to  that  law  which  is  holy,  just 
and  good,  and  which  condemns  the  most  secret 
sins  of  the  heart. 

The  nature  of  the  apostle’s  doctrine  is,  if  possi* 


JUSTIFICATION. 


15.^ 


ble,  even  more  clear  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
vindicates  it,  than  from  his  direct  assertions.  What 
then  !  he  asks,  shall  we  continue  in  sin,  because 
we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace?  God 
forbid.  Had  Paul  taught  that  we  are  freed  from  the 
ceremonial,  in  order  to  be  subject  to  the  moral  law, 
there  could  have  been  no  room  for  such  an  objec¬ 
tion.  But  if  he  taught  that  the  moral  law  itself 
could  not  give  life,  that  we  must  be  freed  from 
its  demands  as  the  condition  of  acceptance  with 
God,  then  indeed,  to  the  wdse  of  this  world,  it 
might  seem  that  he  was  loosing  the  bands  of  moral 
obligation,  and  opening  the  door  to  the  greatest 
licentiousness.  Hence  the  frequency  and  earnest¬ 
ness  with  which  he  repels  the  objection,  and  shows 
that  so  far  from  legal  bondage  being  necessary  to 
holiness,  it  must  cease  before  holiness  can  exist 
that  it  is  not  until  the  curse  of  the  law  is  removed, 
and  the  soul  reconciled  to  God,  that  holy  affections 
rise  in  the  heart,  and  the  fruits  of  holiness  appear 
in  the  life.  Do  we  then  make  void  the  law 
through  faith  ?  God  forbid  :  yea,  we  establish  the 
.aw.'^ 

It  is  then  clearly  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  that 
believers  are  freed  from  the  law  as  prescribing  the 
conditions  of  their  acceptance  with  God  ;  it  is  no 


Rom.  iii.  3*1. 


156 


JUSTIFICATION. 


longer  incumbent  upon  them,  in  order  to  justifica 
tion,  to  fulfil  its  demand  of  perfect  obedience,  or 
to  satisfy  its  penal  exactions.  But  how  is  this 
deliverance  effected  ?  How  is  it  that  rational  and 
accountable  beings  are  exempted  from  the  obliga¬ 
tions  of  that  holy  and  just  law,  which  was  origi 
nally  imposed  upon  their  race  as  the  rule  of 
justification  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  includes 
the  fourth  great  truth  respecting  the  way  of  salva¬ 
tion  taught  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  not  by  the  abroga¬ 
tion  of  the  law,  either  as  to  its  precepts  or  penalty ; 
it  is  not  by  lowering  its  demands,  and  accommo¬ 
dating  them  to  the  altered  capacities  or  inclinations 
of  men.  We  have  seen  how  constantly  the  apostle 
teaches  that  the  law  still  demands  perfect  obedience, 
and  that  they  are  debtors  to  do  the  whole  law  who 
seek  justification  at  its  hands.  He  no  less  clearly 
teaches  that  death  is  as  much  the  wages  of  sin  ii 
our  case,  as  it  was  in  that  of  Adam.  If  it  is  neither 
by  abrogation  nor  relaxation  that  we  are  freed  from 
the  demands  of  the  law,  how  has  this  deliverance 
been  effected  ?  By  the  mystery  of  vicarious 
obedience  and  suffering.  This  is  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God.  This  is  M’^hat  was  a  scandal  to 
the  Jews,  and  foolishness  to  the  Greeks,  but,  to 
those  that  are  called,  the  power  of  God  and  the 
wisdom  of  God. 

The  Scriptures  teach  i/s  that  the  Son  of  God, 


JUSTIFICATION. 


157 


the  brightness  of  the  Father’s  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  who  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,  became  flesh,  and  subjected  himself 
to  the  very  law  to  which  we  were  bound ;  that  he 
perfectly  obeyed  that  law,  and  suffered  its  penalty, 
and  thus,  by  satisfying  its  demands,  delivered  us 
j  from  its  bondage  and  introduced  us  into  the  glo¬ 
rious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  It  is  thus  that 
the  doctrine  of  redemption  is  presented  in  the 
I  Scriptures.  God,  says  the  apostle,  sent  forth  his 
I  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  that 
'  he  might  redeem  those  that  were  under  the  law.^ 
Being  made  under  the  law,  we  know  that  he  obeyed 
it  perfectly,  and  brought  in  everlasting  righteous¬ 
ness,  and  is  therefore  declared  to  be  the  Lord  our 
righteousness,  since,  by  his  obedience,  many  are  con¬ 
stituted  righteous.!  He,  therefore,  is  said  to  be  made 
righteousness  unto  us.J  And  those  who  are  in  him 
are  said  to  be  righteous  before  God,  not  having 
their  own  righteousness,  but  tfiat  which  is  by  the 
faith  of  Christ. § 

That  we  are  redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law 
by  Christ’s  enduring  that  curse  in  our  place,  is 
taught  in  every  variety  of  form  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  Bible.  There  was  the  more  need 

*  Gal.  iv.  4,  5  !  Rom.  v.  19. 

^  1  Cor.  i.  30.  §  Phil,  iii  9. 


14 


JUSTIFICATION. 


lo8 

that  this  point  sliould  be  clearly  and  variously  pre¬ 
sented,  oecanse  it  is  the  one  on  which  an  enlightened 
conscience  immediately  fastens.  The  desert  of 
death  begets  the  fear  of  death.  And  this  fear  of 
death  cannot  be  allayed,  until  it  is  seen  how,  in 
consistency  with  divfne  justice,  we  are  freed  from 
the  righteous  penalty  of  the  law.  How  this  is 
done  the  Scriptures  teach  in  the  most  explicit 
manner.  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us."^  Paul  had 
just  said,  As  many  as  are  of  the  law  are  under  the 
curse.  But  all  men  are  naturally  under  the  law, 
and  therefore  all  are  under  the  curse.  How  arc  we 
redeemed  from  it?  By  Christ’s  being  made  a 
curse  for  us.  Sucli  is  the  simple  and  sufficient 
answer  to  this  most  important  of  all  questions. 

The  doctrine  so  plainly  taught  in  Gal.  iii.  13, 
that  Christ  has  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law  by  bearing  it  in  our  stead,  is  no  less  clearly 
presented  in  2  Cor.  v.  21.  Me  hath  made  him  to 
be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  m.  sin,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  rijrhteousness  of  God  in  him.  This  is 
represented  as  the  only  ground  or.  wliich  men  are 
authorised  to  preach  tlie  gospel.  We  are  ambassa¬ 
dors  for  Christ,  says  the  apostle,  as  though  Go(i 
did  beseech  you  by  us,  we  pray  you  in  Christ’s 


*  Gal.  iii.  13. 


JUSTIFICATION.'  l59 

Stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  Then  follows  a 
statement  of  the  ground  upon  which  this  offer  of 
reconciliation  is  presented.  God  has  made  effectual 
provision  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  by  making  Christ, 
though  holy,  harmless,  and  separate  from  sinners, 
sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made  righteous  in  him. 
The  iniquities  of  us  all  were  laid  on  him  ;  he  was 
treated  as  a  sinner  in  our  place,  in  order  that  we 
might  be  treated  as  righteous  in  him. 

The  same  great  truth  is  taught  in  all  those  par- 
sages  in  which  Christ  is  said  to  bear  our  sins. 
The  expression  to  bear  sin,  is  one  which  is  clearly 
explained  by  its  frequent  occurrence  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures.  It  means  to  bear  the  punishment  due 
to  sin.  In  Lev.  xx.  17,  it  is  said.  He  that  marries 
his  sister,  shall  bear  his  iniquity.  Again,  Whoso¬ 
ever  curseth  his  God,  shall  bear  his  sin.  Of  him 
that  failed  to  keep  the  passover,  it  was  -said,  that 
man  shall  bear  his  sin.*  If  a  man  sin  he  shall  bear 
his  iniquity.  It  is  used  in  the  same  sense  when 
one  man  is  spoken  of  as  bearing  the  sin  of  another. 
Your  children  shall  wander  in  the  wilderness  forty 
years,  and  bear  your  whoredoms.t  Our  fathers 
have  sinned  and  are  not,  and  we  have  borne  their 
iniquities.^  And  when,  in  Ezekiel  xviii.  20,  it  is 

f  Numbers  xiv.  33. 

+  Lam.  V.  7. 


*  Numbers  ix.  13. 


160 


JUSTIFICATION. 


said  that  the  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 
father,  it  is  obviously  meant  that  the  son  shall  not 
be  punished  for  the  sins  of  the  father.  The  mean¬ 
ing  of  this  expression  being  thus  definite,  of  course 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  to  be  understood  when  used  in  reference  to  the 
Redeemer.  The  prophet  says.  The  Lord  hath 
laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  My  righteous 
servant  shall  justify  many,  for  he  shall  bear  their 
iniquities.  He  was  numbered  with  transgressors, 
and  bore  the  sins  of  many.*  Language  more  ex¬ 
plicit  could  not  be  used.  This  whole  chapter  is 
designed  to  teach  one  great  truth,  that  our  sins 
were  to  be  laid  on  the  Messiah,  that  we  might  be 
freed  from  the  punishment  which  they  deserved. 
It  is  therefore  said.  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions  ;  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ; 
llie  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  for 
the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  smitten.  In 
the  New  Testament,  the  same  doctrine  is  taught  in 
the  same  terms.  Who  his  ownself  bare  our  sins 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.f  Christ  was  offered 
to  bear  the  sins  of  many.J  Ye  know  that  he  was 
manifested  to  take  away  (to  bear)  our  sins.§  Ac¬ 
cording  to  all  these  representations,  Christ  saves  us 


*  Is.  liii.  6,  1 1,  12. 
^  Ileb.  ix.  28. 


f  1  Peter,  ii.  24. 
§  1  John  iii.  5. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


161 


from  the  punishment  due  to  our  sins,  by  bearing 
the  curse  of  the  law  in  our  stead. 

Intimately  associated  with  the  passages  just  re¬ 
ferred  to,  are  those  which  describe  the  Redeemer 
as  a  sacrifice,  or  propitiation.  The  essential  idea 
of  a  sin-offering  is  propitiation  by  means  of  vica¬ 
rious  punishment.  That  this  is  the  Scriptural  idea 
of  a  sacrifice,  is  plain  from  the  laws  of  their  insti¬ 
tution,  from  the  effects  ascribed  to  them,  and  from 
the  illustrative  declarations  of  the  sacred  writers. 
The  law  prescribed,  that  the  offender  should  bring 
the  victim  to  the  altar,  lay  his  hands  upon  its  head, 
make  confession  of  his  crime ;  and  that  the  animal 
should  then  be  slain,  and  its  blood  sprinkled  upon 
the  altar.  Thus,  it  is  said.  He  shall  put  his  hand 
upon  the  head  of  the  burnt-offering,  and  it  shall  be 
accepted  for  him  to  make  atonement  for  him.*  And 
he  brought  the  bullock  for  a  sin-offering,  and 
Aaron  and  his  sons  laid  their  hands  upon  the  head 
of  the  bullock  of  the  sin-offering.t  The  import 
of  this  imposition  of  hands,  is  clearly  taught  in 
the  following  passage :  And  Aaron  shall  lay  his 
hands  upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confess 
over  him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  all  their  transgrx^ssions  in  all  their  sins, 
putting  them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  the 

*  Lev.  i.  4.  -j-  Ib.  viii.  14. 

14* 


102 


JUSTIFICATION. 


goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto  a 
land  not  inhabited.*  The  imposition  of  hands, 
therefore,  was  designed  to  express  symbolically 
the  ideas  of  substitution  and  transfer  of  the  liability 
to  punishment.  In  the  case  just  referred  to,  in  or¬ 
der  to  convey  more  clearly  the  idea  of  the  removal 
of  the  liability  to  punishment,  the  goat  on  whose 
head  the  sins  of  the  people  were  imposed,  was  sent 
into  the  wilderness,  but  another  goat  was  slain  and 
consumed  in  its  stead. 

The  nature  of  these  offerings  is  further  obvious 
from  the  effects  attributed  to  them.  They  were 
commanded  in  ordei  to  make  atonement,  to  propi¬ 
tiate,  to  make  reconciliation,  to  secure  the  forgive¬ 
ness  of  sins.  And  this  effect  they  actually  secured. 
In  the  case  of  every  Jewish  offender,  some  penalty 
connected  with  the  theocratical  constitution  under 
which  he  lived,  was  removed  by  the  presentation  and 
acceptance  of  the  appointed  sacrifice.  This  was  all 
the  effect,  in  the  way  of  securing  pardon,  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  could  produce.  Their  effi¬ 
cacy  was  confined  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  and 
to  securing,  for  those  who  offered  them,  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  the  external  theocracy.  Besides,  however, 
this  efficacy,  which,  by  divine  appointment,  belonge  ! 
to  them  considered  in  themselves,  they  were  in* 


*  Lev.  xvi.  21,  22. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


163 


i  tended  to  prefigure  and  predict  the  true  atoning 
I  sacrifice  which  was  to  be  offered  when  the  fulness 
of  time  should  come.  Nothing,  however,  can  mere 
I  clearly  illustrate  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  sacrifices, 
than  the  expressions  employed  by  the  sacred  wri* 
ters  to  jonvey  the  same  idea  as  that  intended  by 
the  term  sin-offering.  Thus  all  that  Isaiah  taught  by 
saying  of  the  Messiah  that  the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  upon  him  ;  that  by  his  stripes  we  are 
healed ;  that  he  was  smitten  for  the  transgression 
of  the  people  ;  that  on  him  was  laid  the  iniquity  of 
us  all,  and  that  he  bore  the  sins  of  many,  he  taugh‘ 
by  saying,  he  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin. 
And  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  it  is  said.  He 
was  offered  (as  a  sacrifice)  to  bear  the  sins  of  many 
The  same  idea,  therefore,  is  expressed  by  saying, 
either  he  bore  our  sins,  or  he  was  made  an  offering 
for  sin.  But  to  bear  the  sins  of  any  one,  means  to 
bear  the  punishment  of  those  sins  ;  and,  therefore, 
to  be  a  sin-offering  conveys  the  same  meaning. 

Such  being  the  idea  of  a  sacrifice  which  per¬ 
vades  the  whole  Jewish  Scriptures,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  sacred  writers  could  not  teach  more  dis¬ 
tinctly  and  intelligibly  the  manner  in  which  Christ 
secures  the  pardon  of  sin,  than  by  saying  he  was 
made  an  offering  for  sin.  With  this  mode  of  pardon 
all  the  early  readers  of  the  Scriptures  were  familiar. 


164 


JUSTIFICATION. 


They  had  been  accustomed  to  it  from  iheii  earliest 
years.  No  one  of  them  could  recall  the  time  when 
the  altar,  the  victim  and  the  blood  were  unknown 
to  him.  His  first  lessons  in  religion  contained  the 
ideas  of  confession  of  sin,  substitution  and  vica¬ 
rious  sufferings  and  death.  When,  therefore,  the 
inspired  penmen  told  men  imbued  with  these  ideas 
that  Christ  was  a  propitiation  for  sin,  that  he  was 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  make  reconciliation,  they 
told  them,  in  the  plainest  of  all  terms,  that  he  secures 
the  pardon  of  our  sins  by  suffering  in  our  stead. 
Jews  could  understand  such  language  in  no  other 
way,  and  therefore,  we  may  be  sure  it  was  intended 
to  convey  no  other  meaning.  And  in  point  of  fact, 
it  has  been  so  understood  by  the  Christian  church 
from  its  first  organization  to  the  present  day. 

If  it  were  merely  in  the  way  of  casual  allusion 
that  Christ  was  declared  to  be  a  sacrifice,  we  should 
not  be  authorized  to  infer  from  it  the  method  of  re¬ 
demption.  But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case. 
This  doctrine  is  presented  in  the  most  didactic 
form.  It  is  exhibited  in  every  possible  mode.  It 
is  asserted,  illustrated,  vindicated.  It  is  made  the 
central  point  of  all  divine  institutions  and  instruc¬ 
tions.  It  is  urged  as  the  foundation  of  hope,  as 
the  source  of  consolation,  the  motive  to  obedience. 
It  is  in  fact  the  gospel.  It  wouli«*  be  vain  to 


JUSTIFICATION 


165 


aiiempt  a  i  eference  to  all  the  passages  in  which  this 
great  doctrine  is  taught.  We  are  told  that  God  set 
forth  Jesus  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins 
through  faith  in  his  blood.*  Again  he  is  declared  to 
be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  our’s  only 
but  for  thf'  sins  of  the  whole  world.!  He  is  called 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  (beareth)  the 
sins  of  the  world.!  Ye  were  not  redeemed,  say? 
the  apostle  Peter,  with  corruptible  things  as  silver 
and  gold  from  your  vain  conversation  received  by 
tradition  from  your  fathers,  but  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and 
without  spot.§  In  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  this 
doctrine  is  more  fully  exhibited  than  in  any  other 
portion  of  Scripture.  Christ  is  not  only  repeatedly 
called  a  sacrifice,  but  an  elaborate  comparison  is 
made  between  the  offering  which  he  presented 
and  those  which  were  offered  under  the  old*  dispen¬ 
sation.  If  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  says 
the  apostle,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  sprinkling 
the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh, 
how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who 
through  the  eternal  spirit  (possessing  an  eternal 
spirit)  offered  himself  without  spot  unto  God,  purge 
your  CO  iscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 


*  Rom.  iii.  25. 
John  i.  29. 


■f  1  John  ii.  2. 

§  1  Pet.  i.  18,  .^9. 


166 


JUSTIFICATION. 


God.^  The  ancient  sacrifices  in  themselves  could] 
only  remove  ceremonial  uncleanness.  They  could 
not  purge  the  conscience  or  reconcile  the  soul  to] 
God.  They  were  mere  shadows  of  the  true  sacri-] 
fice  for  sins.  Hence  they  were  offered  daily.; 
Christ’s  sacrifice  being  really  efficacious,  was  offer¬ 
ed  but  once.  It  was  because  the  ancient  sacrifices 
were  ineffectual,  that  Christ  said,  when  he  came 
into  the  world.  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst 
not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me.  In  burnt; 
offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  no  pleasure, 
Then  said  I,  Lo  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God.  By 
the  which  will,  adds  the  apostle,  that  is,  by  the  ac¬ 
complishing  the  purpose  of  God,  we  are  sanctified 
(or  atoned  for)  through  the  offering  of  the  body  of 
Jesus  Christ  once  for  all ;  and  by  that  one  offering 
he  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified, 
and  of  all  this,  he  adds,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  witness.! 
The  Scriptures,  therefore,  clearly  teach  that  Jesus 
Christ  delivers  us  from  the  punishment  of  our  sins, 
by  offering  himself  as  a  sacrifice  in  our  behalf ; 
that  as  under  the  old  dispensation,  the  penalties 
attached  to  the  violations  of  the  theocratical  cove¬ 
nant,  were  removed  by  the  substitution  and  sacri¬ 
fice  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  so  under  the  spiritual 
theocracy,  in  the  living  temple  of  the  living  God, 


•  Heb.  ix,  13, 14. 


!  Heb.  X.  5,  15. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


167 


i  ihe  punish  nent  of  sin  is  removed  by  the  substitu¬ 
tion  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  As  no  ancient 
Israelite,  when  by  transgression  he  had  forfeited 
his  liberty  of  access  to  the  earthly  sanctuary,  was 
ignorant  of  the  mode  of  atonement  and  reconcilia¬ 
tion  ;  so  now,  no  conscience-stricken  sinner,  who 
‘  knows  that  he  is  unworthy  to  draw  near  to  God 
need  be  ignorant  of  that  new  and  living  way  which 
Christ  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  his  flesh, 
so  that  we  have  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by 
t  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

In  all  the  forms  of  expression  hitherto  mention¬ 
ed,  viz  :  Christ  was  made  a  curse  for  us  ;.he  was 
made  sin  for  us ;  he  bore  our  sins,  he  was  made  a 
sin  offering,  there  is  the  idea  of  substitution.  Christ 
took  our  place,  he  suffered  in  our  stead,  he  acted 
as  our  representative.  But  as  the  act  of  a  substitute 
is  in  effect  the  act  of  the  principal,  all  that  Christ 
did  and  suffered  in  that  character,  every  believer  is 
regarded  as  having  done  and  suffered.  The  atten¬ 
tive  and  pious  reader  of  the  Bible  will  recognise 
this  idea  in  some  of  the  most  common  forms  of 
Scriptural  expression.  Believers  are  those  who  are 
in  Christ.  This  is  their  great  distinction  and  most 
familiar  designation.  They  are  so  united  to  him, 
that  what  he  did  in  their  behalf  they  are  declared 
to  have  done.  When  he  died,  they  died  ;  when  he 
rose,  they  rose ;  as  he  lives,  they  shall  live  also. 


168 


JUSTIFICATION 


The  passages  in  which  believers  are  said  to  have 
died  in  Christ  are  very  numerous.  If  one  died  for 
all,  says  the  apostle,  then  all  died  (not.  were  dead.)"* **^ 
He  that  died  (with  Christ)  is  justified  from  sin,  i.  e. 
freed  from  its  condemnation  and  power;  and  if  we 
died  with  Christ,  we  believe,  that  we  shall  live  witl 
him.t  As  a  woman  is  freed  by  death  from  her  hus 
oand,  so  believers  are  freed  from  the  law  by  the 
Dody  (the  death)  of  Christ,  because  his  death  is  in 
effect  their  death. J  And  in  the  following  verse,  he 
says,  having  died,  (in  Christ)  we  are  freed  from  the 
law.  Every  believer,  therefore,  may  say  with  Paul, 
I  was  crucified  with  Christ.§  In  like  manner  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  secures  both  the  spiritual  life 
and  future  resurrection  of  all  his  people.  If  we 
have  been  united  to  him  in  his  death,  we  shall  be 
in  his  resurrection.  If  we  died  with  him,  we  shall 
live  with  him.il  Cod,  says  the  apostle,  hath  quick- 
ened  us  together  with  Christ;  and  hath  raised  us 
up  together,  and  made  us  to  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus. ^  That  is,  God  hath  quick 
ened,  raised,  and  exalted  us  together*"^  with  Christ 

*  2  Cor.  V.  14.  j-  Rom.  vi.  7,  8.  i:  Rom.  vii.  4. 

§  Gal.  ii.  20.  (1  Rom.  vi.  .5,  8.  I  Eph.  ii.  5.  6. 

**  There  is  no  separate  word  in  the  original  to  answer  to 
the  word  together,  which  is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  union 
of  believers  with  one  another  in  the  participation  of  these 


JUSTIFICATION 


x69 


It  is  on  this  ground  also  that  Paul  says  that  Christ 
rose  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  dead ;  not  merely  the 
first  in  order,  but  the  earnest  and  security  of  the 
resurrection  of  his  people.  For  as  in  Adam  all 
die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive. ^  As  our 
union  with  Adam  secures  our  death,  union  with 
Christ  secures  our  resurrection.  Adam  is  a  type 
of  him  that  was  to  come,  that  is  Christ,  inasmuch 
as  the  relation  in  which  Adam  stood  to  the  whole 
race  is  analogous  to  that  in  which  Christ  stands  to 
his  own  people.  As  Adam  was  our  natural  head, 
the  poison  of  sin  flows  in  all  our  veins.  As 
Christ  is  ©ur  spiritual  head,  eternal  life  which 
is  in  him,  descends  to  all  his  members.  It  is 
not  they  that  live,  but  Christ  that  liveth  in  ihem.t 
This  doctrine  of  the  representative  and  vital  union 
of  Christ  and  believers,  pervades  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  It  is  the  source  of  the  humility,  the  joy, 
the  confidence  which  the  sacred  writers  so  often 
express.  In  themselves  they  were  nothing  and  de¬ 
served  nothing,  but  in  Him  they  possessed  all 
things.  Hence  they  counted  all  things  but  loss  that 
they  might  be  found  in  Him.  Hence  they  deter¬ 
mined  to  know  nothing,  to  preach  nothing,  to  glory 
in  nothing  but  in  Christ  and  him  crucified. 


blessings.  It  is  their  union  with  Christ  that  the  passage  as 

serts. 


*  1  Cor.  XV.  20,  22. 


15 


t  Gal.  ii.  20. 


170 


JUSTIFICATION. 


'I’he  great  doctrine  of  the  vicarious  sufferings  nid 
death  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  further* •*  taught  in  tltoaf 
numerous  passages  which  refer  our  salvation  to  hi^ 
blood,  his  death,  or  his  cross.  Viewed  in  connex¬ 
ion  with  the  passages  already  mentioned,  those  now 
referred  to  not  only  teach  the  fact  that  the  death  of 
Christ  secures  the  pardon  of  sin,  but  how  it  does  it. 
To  this  class  belong  such  declarations  as  the  follow¬ 
ing.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanses  us  from  all 
sin.*  We  have  redemption  through  his  blood. t 
He  has  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross. :{: 
Being  justified  by  his  blood. §  Ye  are  made  nigh 
by  the  blood  of  Christ.il  Ye  are  come  to  the  blood 
of  sprinkling.^  Elect  unto  obedience  and  sprink¬ 
ling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.^*  Unto  him  who 
loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood. tt  He  hath  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  his 
blood. This  cup,  said  the  Son  of  God  himself, 
is  the  New  Testament  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed 
for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.§§  The  sacri¬ 
ficial  character  of  the  death  of  Christ  is  taught  in 
all  these  passages.  Blood  was  the  means  of  atone¬ 
ment,  and  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  there  was 
no  remission ;  and,  therefore,  when  our  salvation 

*  1  John  i.  7.  j-  Eph.  i.  7.  i  Col.  i.  20. 

§  Rom.  V.  9.  II  Eph.  ii.  13.  T[  Heb.  xii.  24. 

•*  1  Pet.  i.  2.  j-f  Bev.  1.  v.  Rev.  v.  9. 

§§  Matt.  XX vi.  28 


JUSTIFICATION 


17 


IS  SO  often  ascribed  to  the  blood  of  the  Saviour,  it 
is  declared  that  he  died  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sms. 

The  same  remark  may  be  made  in  reference  to 
those  passages,  which  ascribe  our  redemption  to 
the  death,  the  cross,  the  flesh  of  Christ;  for  these 
terms  are  interchanged  as  being  of  the  same  import. 
We  are  reconciled  unto  God  by  the  death  of  his 
Son.*  We  are  reconciled  by  his  cross. t  We 
are  reconciled  by  the  body  of  his  flesh  through 
death. J  We  are  delivered  from  the  law  by  the 
body  of  Christ  ;§  he  abolished  the  law  in  his 
flesh  ;||  he  took  away  the  handwriting,  which  was 
against  us,  nailing  it  to  his  cross. ^  The  more 
general  expressions  respecting  Christ’s  dying  for 
us,  receive  a  definite  meaning  from  their  connexion 
with  the  more  specific  passages  above  mentioned. 
Every  one,  therefore,  knows  what  is  meant,  when 
it  is  said  that  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly  ;**  that  he 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  many  ;tt  that  he  died  the 
just  for  the  unjust  that  he  might  bring  us  unto 
God.JJ  Not  less  plain  is  the  meaning  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  when  it  is  said,  God  spared  not  his  own  son, 
out  delivered  him  up  for  us  all  ;§§  that  he  was  de- 

*  Rom.  V.  10.  j-  Eph.  ii,  16.  t  Col.  i.  22. 

§  Rom.  vii.  4.  ||  Eph.  ii.  15.  ^  Col.  ii.  14. 

•*  Rom.  V.  6.  ff  Matt.  xx.  28.  :t:t  1  Pet.  iii.  18 

§§  Rom.  viii.  32. 


172 


JUSTIFICATION. 


livered  for  our  offences  that  he  gave  himself  for 
our  sins.t 

Seeing  then  that  we  owe  every  thing  to  the  ex¬ 
piatory  sufferings  of  the  blessed  Saviour,  we  cease 
to  wonder  that  the  Cross  is  rendered  so  prominent 
in  the  exhibition  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  We  are 
not  surprised  at  Paul’s  anxiety  lest  the  cross  of 
Christ  should  be  made  of  none  effect ;  or  that  he 
should  call  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  the  preach 
ing  of  the  cross ;  or  that  he  should  preach  Christ 
crucified,  both  to  Jews  and  Greeks,  as  the  wisdom 
of  God  and  the  power  of  God,  or  that  he  should 
determine  to  glory  in  nothing  save  in  the  Cross  of 
Christ. 

As  there  is  no  truth  more  necessary  to  be  known, 
so  there  is  none  more  variously  or  plainly  taught 
than  the  method  of  escaping  the  wrath  of  God  due 
to  us  for  sin.  Besides  all  the  clear  exhibitions  of 
Christ  as  bearing  our  sins,  as  dying  in  our  stead,  as 
making  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  as  redeeming  us 
by  his  blood,  the  Scriptures  set  him  forth  in  the 
character  of  a  Priest,  in  order  that  we  might  more 
fully  understand  how  it  is  that  he  effects  our  salva¬ 
tion.  It  was  predicted  long  before  his  advent  that 
the  Messiah  was  to  be  a  priest.  Thou  art  a  priest 
forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedeck,  was  the 


•  Rom.  iv.  25. 


t  Gal.  i.  4. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


173 


declaration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  mouth  of 
David. ^  Zechariah  predicted  that  he  should  sit  as 
a  priest  upon  his  throne.t  The  apostle  defines  a 
priest  to  be  a  man  ordained  for  men  in  things  per¬ 
taining  unto  God,  that  he  may  offer  both  gifts  and 
sacrifices  for  sins.J  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  real 
priest  in  the  universe.  All  others  Mmre  either  pre¬ 
tenders,  or  the  shadow  of  the  great  High  Priest  of 
our  profession.  For  this  office  he  had  every  neces¬ 
sary  qualification.  He  was  a  man.  For  inasmuch 
as  the  children  were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood 
he  also  took  part  of  the  same  in  order  that  he  might 
be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high  priest;  one  who  can 
be  touched  with  a  sense  of  our  infirmities,  seeing 
he  was  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin.  He  was  sinless.  For  such  a  high 
priest  became  us  who  was  holy,  harmless  and  sepa¬ 
rate  from  sinners.  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  The 
law  made  men  having  infirmity,  priests.  But  God 
declared  his  Son  to  be  a  priest,  who  is  consecrated 
for  evermore. §  The  sense  in  which  Christ  is  de¬ 
clared  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  is  explained  in  the 
first  chapter  of  this  epistle.  It  is  there  said,  that 
he  is  the  express  image  of  God ;  that  he  upholds 
all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power ;  that  all  the 


♦  Ps.  cx.  4. 
4  Heb.  V.  1 


I  Zechariah,  vi.  J  i, 
§  Heb.  vii.  28. 


174 


TUSTIFICATION. 


angels  are  commanded  to  worship  him ;  that  his 
throne  is  an  everlasting  throne  ;  that  in  the  begin 
ning  he  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ;  that  he 
is  from  everlasting,  and  that  his  years  fail  not.  It 
is  from  the  dignity  of  his  person,  as  possessing  this 
divine  nature,  that  the  apostle  deduces  the  efficacy 
of  his  sacrifice,^  the  perpetuity  of  his  priesthood,! 
and  his  ability  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  who 
come  unto  God  through  him4  He  was  duly  con¬ 
stituted  a  priest.  He  glorified  not  himself  to  be 
made  a  high  priest,  but  he  that  said  to  him.  Thou 
art  my  Son,  said  also,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever. 
He  is  the  only  real  priest  and,  therefore,  his  advent 
superseded  all  others,  and  put  an  immediate  end  to 
all  their  lawful  ministrations,  by  abolishing  the 
typical  dispensation  with  which  they  were  con¬ 
nected.  For  the  priesthood  being  changed,  there 
was  of  necessity  a  change  of  the  law.  There 
was  a  disannulling  of  the  former  commandment  for 
the  weakness  and  unprofitableness  thereof,  and 
there  was  the  introduction  of  a  better  hope.§  He  has 
an  appropriate  offering  to  present.  As  every  high 
priest  is  appointed  to  offer  sacrifices,  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  that  this  man  should  have  somewhat  to  offer. 
I'his  sacrifice  was  not  the  blood  of  goats  or  of 


*  Heb.  ix.  14. 
Ibid.  vii.  25. 


Ibid.  vii.  16. 

§  Ibid.  vii.  12,  Itr. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


175 


calves,  but  his  own  blood  ;  it  was  himself  he  offer¬ 
ed  unto  God,  to  purge  our  conscience  from  dead 
works. ^  He  has  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself,  which  was  accomplished  when  he  was 
once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many.t  He  has 
passed  into  the  heavens.  As  the  high  priest  was 
required  to  enter  into  the  most  holy  place  with  the 
blood  of  atonement,  so  Christ  has  entered  not  into 
the  holy  place  made  with  hands,  but  into  heaven 
itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us,:}; 
and  where  he  ever  lives  to  make  intercession  for 
us.ll 

Seeing  then  we  have  a  great  High  Priest,  that  is 
passed  into  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God, 
(let  the  reader  remember  what  that  means),  who  is 
set  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high, 
having  by  himself  p’  rged  our  sins  and  made  recon¬ 
ciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  every  humble 
believer  who  commits  his  soul  into  the  hands  of  this 
High  Priest,  may  come  with  boldness  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  assured  that  he  shall  find  mercy  and  grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need. 


*  Heb,  ix.  12,  14. 
^  Ibid.  ix.  24. 


■[•  Ibid.  ix.  26,  28. 
§  Ibid.  vii.  25. 


176 


JUSTIFICATION. 


SECTION  HI.  The  righteousness  of  Christ  the  true  ground 
i/f  our  Justification.  The  practical  effects  of  this  doctrine. 

The  Bible,  as  we  have  seen,  teaches,  first,  that  we 
are  under  a  law  which  demands  perfect  obedience 
and  which  threatens  death  in  case  of  transgression  ; 
secondly,  that  all  men  have  failed  in  rendering  that 
obedience,  and  therefore,  are  subject  to  the  threat¬ 
ened  penalty  ;  thirdly,  that  Christ  has  redeemed  us 
from  the  law  by  being  made  under  it  and  in  our 
place,  satisfying  its  demands.  It  only  remains  to 
be  shown  that  this  perfect  righteousness  of  Christ 
is  presented  as  the  ground  of  our  justification  be¬ 
fore  God. 

In  scriptural  language  condemnation  is  a  sen¬ 
tence  of  death  pronounced  upon  sin  ;  justification 
is  a  sentence  of  life  pronounced  upon  righteousness. 
As  this  righteousness  is  not  our  own,  as  we  are 
sinners,  ungodly,  without  works,  it  must  be  the 
righteousness  of  another,  even  of  him  who  is  our 
righteousness.  Hence  we  find  so  constantly  the 
distinction  between  our  own  righteousness  and  tha 
which  God  gives.  The  Jews,  the  apostle  says, 
being  ignorant  of  God’s  righteousness,  and  going 
about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  would 
not  sifi  Jttit  themselves  unto  the  righteousness  of 


JUSTIFICATION. 


177 


God.*  This  was  the  rock  on  which  they  split. 
They  knew  that  justification  required  a  righteous¬ 
ness  ;  they  insisted  on  urging  their  own,  imperfect 
as  It  was,  and  would  not  accept  of  that  which  Goa 
had  provided  in  the  merits  of  his  Son,  who  is  the 
end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
believes.  The  same  idea  is  presented  in  Rom.  ix. 
30,  32,  where  Paul  sums  up  the  case  of  the  rejec¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  and  the  acceptance  of  believers. 
The  Gentiles  have  attained  righteousness,  even  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  faith.  But  Israel  hath  not 
attained  it.  Wherefore?  Be<'ause  they  sought  it 
not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the  law. 
The  Jews  would  not  receive  and  confide  in  the 
righteousness  which  God  had  provided,  but  endea¬ 
voured,  by  works,  to  prepare  a  righteousness  of  their 
own.  This  was  the  cause  of  their  ruin.  In  direct 
contrast  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  majority  of 
his  kinsmen,  we  find  Paul  renouncing  all  depend¬ 
ence  upon  his  own  righteousness,  and  thankfully 
receiving  that  which  God  had  provided.  Though 
he  had  every  advantage  and  every  temptation  to  trust 
in  himself,  that  any  man  could  have  ;  for  he  was  one 
of  the  favoured  people  of  God,  circumcised  on  the 
eighth  day,  and  touching  the  righteousness  which  is 
in  the  law,  blameless,  yet  all  these  things  he  counted 


*  Rom.  X.  3. 


178 


JUSTIFICATION. 


but  loss,  that  he  might  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in 
him,  not  having  his  own  righteousness,  which  .s  of 
the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith. ^ 
Here  the  two  righteousnesses  are  brought  distinctly 
into  view.  The  one  was  his  own,  consisting  in 
obedience  to  the  law ;  this  Paul  rejects  as  inade 
quate,  and  unworthy  of  acceptance.  The  other  is 
of  God  and  received  by  faith  ;  this  Paul  accepts 
and  glories  in  as  all  sufficient  and  as  alone  sufficient. 
This  is  the  righteousness  which  the  apostle  says 
God  imputes  to  those  without  works.  Hence  it  is 
called  a  gift,  a  free  gift,  i  gift  by  grace,  and  be¬ 
lievers  are  described  as  tnose  who  receive  this  gift 
of  righteousness.t  Hence  we  are  never  said  to  be 
justified  by  any  thing  done  by  us  or  wrought  in  us, 
but  by  what  Christ  has  done  for  us.  We  are  justi- 
ied  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  him.j:  We 
are  justified  by  his  blood. §  We  are  justified  by  his 
obedience.il  We  are  justified  by  him  from  all 
things.^  He  is  our  righteousness.*^  We  are  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.tt  We  are  justified 
in  hxs  name.y  There  is  no  condemnation  to  those 
who  are  in  him.§§  Justification  is  therefore,  by 

*  Phil.  iii.  9.  j-  Rom.  v.  17.  t  Rom.  iii.  24. 

§  Rom.  V.  9.  II  Rom.  v.  19.  |  Actsxiii.  39. 

1  Cor.  i.  30.  ft  2  Coi.  v,  21.  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 

§§  Rom.  viii.  1. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


179 


in  Christ,  because  faith  is  receiving  and  trust¬ 
ing  to  him  as  our  Saviour,  as  having  done  all  that  is 
required  to  secure  our  acceptance  before  God. 

It  is  thus  then  the  Scriptures  answer  the  question, 
How  can  a  man  be  just  with  God  ?  When  the 
soul  is  burdened  with  a  sense  of  sin,  when  it  sees 
how  reasonable  and  holy  is  that  law  which  demands 
perfect  obedience  and  which  threatens  death  as  the 
penalty  of  transgression  ;  when  it  feels  the  absolute 
impossibility  of  ever  satisfying  these  just  demands 
by  its  own  obedience  and  sufferings,  it  is  then  that 
the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  as  our  righteousness, 
is  felt  to  be  the  wdsdom  and  power  of  God  unto  sal¬ 
vation.  Destitute  of  all  righteousness  in  ourselves, 
W'^e  have  our  righteousness  in  him.  What  we 
could  not  do  he  has  done  for  us.  The  righteousness, 
therefore,  on  the  ground  of  which  the  sentence  of 
justification  is  passed  upon  the  believing  sinner,  is 
not  his  own  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  one  of  the  strongest  evidences  of  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Scriptures  that  they  are  suited  to  the 
nature  and  circumstances  of  man.  If  their  doctrines 
were  believed  and  their  precepts  obeyed,  men  would 
stand  in  their  true  relation  to  God,  and  the  different 
classes  of  men  to  each  other.  Parents  and  children, 
husbands  and  wi>es,  rulers  and  subjects,  would  be 
found  in  their  proj  er  sphere,  and  would  attain  die 


!80 


JUSTIFICATION. 


highest  possible  degree  of  excellence  and  happi 
ness.  Truth  is  in  order  to  holiness.  And  all  truth 
is  known  to  be  truth,  by  its  tendency  to  promote 
holiness.  As  this  test  when  applied  to  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  generally,  evinces  their  divine  perfection,  so 
when  applied  to  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  shows  that  doctrine  to 
be  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  On  this  ground  it  is 
commended  by  the  sacred  writers.  They  declare 
it  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  honorable  to  God  and 
beneficial  to  man.  They  assert  that  it  is  so  arranged 
as  to  display  the  wisdom,  justice,  holiness  and  love 
of  God,  while  it  secures  the  pardon,  peace  and 
holiness  of  men.  If  it  failed  in  either  of  these  ob¬ 
jects  ;  if  it  were  not  suited  to  the  divine  character, 
or  to  our  nature  and  necessities,  it  could  not  answer 
the  end  for  which  it  was  designed. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted  that  the  glory  of  God  ' 
in  the  exhibition  or  revelation  of  the  divine  perfec¬ 
tions  is  the  highest  conceivable  end  of  creation  an:I 
redemption ;  and  consequently  that  any  doctrine 
which  is  suited  to  make  such  exhibition  is,  on  that 
account,  worthy  of  being  universally  received  and 
gloried  in.  Now  the  inspired  writers  teach  us  that 
it  is  peculiarly  in  the  plan  of  redemption  that  the 
divine  perfections  are  revealed  ;  that  it  was  designed 
to  show  unto  principalities  and  powers  the  f«r»uifold 


JCSl'IFICATTON. 


iVl 

-Tisaom  of  God  ;  that  Christ  was  set  forth  as  a  pro- 
Mtiatory  sacrifice  to  exhibit  his  righteousness  or 
justice  ;  and  especially  that  in  the  ages  to  come  he 
alight  show  forth  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace 
in  his  kindness  towards  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is 
the  love  of  God,  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth 
and  heigth  of  which  pass  knowledge,  that  is 
here  most  conspicuously  displayed.  Some  men 
strangely  imagine  that  the  death  of  Christ  procured 
for  us  the  love  of  God ;  whereas  it  was  the  effect 
and  not  the  cause  of  that  love.  Christ  did  not  die 
that  God  might  love  us  ;  but  he  died  because  God 
loved  us.  God  commendeth  his  love  towards  us 
in  that  while  we  were  sinners  Christ  died  for  us 
He  so  loved  tn.*  world  that  he  gave  his  only  be¬ 
gotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  might 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.  In  this  was 
manifested  the  love  of  God  towards  us,  because 
God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world, 
that  we  might  live  through  him.  Herein  is  love, 
not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and 
sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. 

As  this  love  of  God  is  m^’iiifested  towards  the 
unworthy,  it  is  called  grace,  and  this  it  is  that  the 
Scriptures  dwell  upon  with  such  peculiar  frequency 
and  earnestness.  The  mystery  of  redemption  is, 
that  a  Being  of  infinite  holiness  and  justice  should 
manifest  such  wonderful  love  to  sinners.  Hence 

16 


J82 


JUSTIFICATION. 


the  sacred  writers  so  earnestly  denounce  every  thing 
that  obscures  this  peculiar  feature  of  the  gospel ; 
everything  which  represents  men  as  worthy,  as 
meriting,  or,  in  any  way  by  their  own  goodness, 
securing  the  exercise  of  this  love  of  God.  It  is  of 
grace  lest  any  man  should  boast.  We  are  justified 
by  grace  ;  we  are  saved  by  grace  ;  and  if  of  grace 
it  is  no  more  of  works,  otherwise  grace  is  no  mors 
grace  The  apostle  teaches  us  not  only  that  the 
plan  of  salvation  had  its  origin  in  the  unmerited 
kindness  of  God,  and  that  our  acceptance  with  him 
is  in  no  way  or  degree  founded  in  our  own  worthi¬ 
ness,  but  moreover,  that  the  actual  administration 
of  the  economy  of  mercy  is  so  conducted  as  to 
magnify  this  attribute  of  the  divine  character.  God 
chooses  the  foolish,  the  base,  the  weak,  yea  those 
who  are  nothing,  in  order  that  no  flesh  should  glory 
in  his  presence.  Christ  is  made  everything  to  us, 
that  those  w'ho  glory,  should  glory  only  in  the 
Lord.* 

It  cannot  fail  to  occur  to  every  reader  that  unless 
he  sincerely  rejoices  in  this  feature  of  the  plan  of 
redemption,  unless  he  is  glad  that  the  whole  glory 
of  his  salvation  belongs  to  God,  his  heart  cannot 
be  in  accordance  with  the  gospel.  If  jhe  believes 
that  the  ground  of  his  acceptance  is  in  himself,  oi 


•  1  Cor.  i.  27,  31. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


183 


even  wishes  that  it  were  so,  he  is  not  prepared  to 
join  in  those  grateful  songs  of  acknowledgment  to 
Him,  who  hath  saved  us  and  called  us  with  an  holy 
calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  according 
to  his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  it  is  the  delight 
of  the  redeemed  to  offer  unto  him  that  loved  then, 
and  gave  himself  for  them.  It  is  most  obvious  that 
the  sacred  writers  are  abundant  in  the  confession  ot 
their  unworthiness  in  the  sight  of  God.  They 
acknowledged  that  they  were  unworthy  absolutely 
and  unworthy  comparatively.  It  was  of  grace  that 
any  man  was  saved ;  and  it  was  of  grace  that  they 
were  saved  rather  than  others.  It  is,  therefore,  all 
of  grace,  that  God  may  be  exalted  and  glorified  in 
all  them  that  believe. 

The  doctrine  of  the  gratuitous  justification  of 
sinners  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  displays 
the  infinite  love  of  God,  but  it  is  declared  to  be 
peculiarly  honourable  to  him,  or  peculiarly  con¬ 
sistent  with  his  attributes,  because  it  is  adapted  to 
all  men.  Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  ?  Is  he 
not  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Yes  of  the  Gentiles  also; 
seeing  it  is  one  God  who  shall  justify  the  circum¬ 
cision  by  faith,  and  the  uncircumcision  through  faith. 
For  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call 
upon  him.  For  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  This  is  no  narrow, 
national  or  sectarian  doctrine.  It  is  as  broad  as  the 


184 


JUSTIFICATION. 


earth.  Wherever  men,  the  creatures  of  God  cai 
be  found,  there  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus 
may  be  preached.  The  apostle  greatly  exults  in 
this  feature  of  the  plan  of  redemption,  as  worthy 
of  God ;  and  as  making  the  gospel  the  foundation 
of  a  religion  for  all  nations  and  ages.  In  revealing 
a  salvation  sufficient  for  all  and  suited  for  all,  it 
discloses  God  in  his  true  character,  as  the  God 
and  Father  of  all. 

The  Scriptures,  however,  represent,  this  great 
doctrine  as  not  less  suited  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  man,  than  it  is  to  promote  the  glory  of  God. 
If  it  exalts  God,  it  humbles  man.  If  it  renders  it 
manifest  that  he  is  a  Being  of  infinite  holiness, 
justice  and  love,  it  makes  us  feel  that  we  are  desti¬ 
tute  of  all  merit,  nay  are  most  ill-deserving ;  that  we 
are  without  strength  ;  that  our  salvation  is  an  unde 
served  favour.  As  nothing  is  more  true  than  the 
guilt  and  helplessness  of  men,  no  plan  of  redemp¬ 
tion. which  does  not  recognise  these  facts  could  ever 
he  in  harmony  with  our  inward  experience,  or  com¬ 
mand  the  full  acquiescence  of  the  penitent  soul. 
The  ascription  of  merit  which  we  are  conscious  we 
do  not  deserve,  produces  of  itself  severe  distress ; 
and  if  this  false  estimate  of  our  deserts  is  the  ground 
of  the  exhibition  of  special  kindness  towards  us,  it 
destroys  the  happiness  such  kindness  would  other 
wise  produce.  To  a  soul,  therefore,  sensible  of 


JUSTIFICATION. 


185 


its  pollution  and  guilt  in  the  sight  of  God,  the  doc¬ 
trine  that  it  is  saved  on  account  of  its  own  goodness, 
or  because  it  is  better  than  other  men,  is  discordant 
and  destructive  of  its  peace.  Nothing  but  an  abso¬ 
lutely  gratuitous  salvation  can  suit  a  soul  sensible 
of  its  ill-desert.  Nothing  else  suits  its  views  of 
truth,  or  its  sense  of  right.  The  opposite  doctrine 
involves  a  falsehood  and  a  moral  impropriety  in 
which  neither  the  reason  nor  conscience  can  acqui¬ 
esce.  The  scriptural  doctrine, .  which  assumes 
what  we  know  to  be  true,  viz  :  our  guilt  and  help¬ 
lessness,  places  us  in  our  proper  relation  to  God ; 
that  relation  which  accords  with  the  truth,  with  our 
sense  of  right,  with  our  inward  experience,  and 
with  every  proper  desire  of  our  hearts.  This  is 
one  of  the  reasons  why.  the  Scriptures  represent 
peace  as  the  consequence  of  justification  by  faith. 
There  can  be  no  peace  while  the  soul  is  not  in  har¬ 
mony  with  God,  and  there  can  be  no  such  harmony 
until  it  willingly  occupies  its  true  position  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  God.  So  long  as  it  does  not  acknowledge 
its  true  character,  so  long  as  it  acts  on  the  assump¬ 
tion  of  its  ability  to  merit  or  to  earn  the  divine  favour, 
it  is  in  a  false  position.  Its  feelings  towards  God 
are  wrong,  and  there  is  no  manifestation  of  appro¬ 
bation  or  favour  on  the  part  of  God  towards  the 
soul.  But  when  we  take  our  true  place  and  feel 
QMi  ill-desert,  and  look  upon  pardoning  mercy  as 

16* 


186 


JUSTIFICATION. 


a  mere  gratuity,  we  find  access  to  God  and  his  lovft 
is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts,  producing  that  peace 
which  passes  all  understanding.  The  soul  ceases 
from  its  legal  strivings ;  it  gives  over  the  vain  at¬ 
tempt  to  make  itself  worthy,  or  to  work  out  a 
righteousness  wherewith  to  appear  before  God.  It 
is  contented  to  be  accepted  as  unworthy,  and  to 
receive  as  a  gift  a  righteousness  which  can  bear  the 
scrutiny  of  God.  Peace,  therefore,  is  not  the  result 
of  the  assurance  of  mere  pardon,  but  of  pardon 
founded  upon  a  righteousness  which  illustrates  the 
character  of  God,  which  magnifies  the  law  and 
makes  it  honorable ;  which  satisfies  the  justice  of 
God  while  it  displays  the  infinite  riches  of  divine 
tenderness  and  love.  The  soul  can  find  no  objec¬ 
tion  to  such  a  method  of  forgiveness.  It  is  not 
pained  by  the  ascription  of  merit  to  itself,  which  is 
felt  to  be  undeserved.  Its  utter  unworthiness  is  not 
only  recognised  but  openly  declared.  Nor  is  it 
harassed  by  the  anxious  doubt  whether  God  can 
consistently  with  his  justice  forgive  sin.  For  justice 
is  as  clearly  revealed  in  the  cross  of  Christ,  as  lovo. 
The  whole  soul,  therefore,  however  enlightened,  or 
however  sensitive,  acquiesces  with  humility  anu 
delight  in  a  plan  of  mercy  which  thus  honours  God, 
and  which,  while  it  secures  the  salvation  of  the 
sinner,  permits  him  to  hide  himself  kn  the  radiance 
which  surrounds  his  Saviour. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


187 


The  apostles  moreover,  urge  on  men  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  with  peculiar  earnestness 
oecause  it  presents  the  only  method  of  deliverance 
from  sin.  So  long  as  men  are  under  the  condemna¬ 
tion  of  the  law,  and  feel  themselves  bound  by  its 
demands  of  obedience  as  the  condition  and  ground 
of  their  acceptance  with  God,  they  do  and  must 
feel  that  he  is  unreconciled,  that  his  perfections  are 
arrayed  against  them.  Their  whole  object  is  to 
propitiate  him  by  means  which  they  know  to  be 
inadequate.  Their  spirit  is  servile,  their  religion 
a  bondage,  their  God  is  a  hard  master.  To  men  in 
such  a  state,  true  love,  true  obedience  and  real 
peace  are  alike  impossible.  But  when  they  are 
brought  to  see  that  God,  through  his  infinite  love, 
has  set  forth  Jesus  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  ( ur 
sins,  that  he  might  be  just,  and  yet  justify  those 
that  believe ;  that  it  is  not  by  works  of  righteous¬ 
ness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his 
mercy  he  saveth  us  ;  they  are  emancipated  from 
their  former  bondage  and  made  the  sons  of  God. 

O 

God  is  no  longer  a  hard  master,  but  a  kind  Father 
Obedience  is  no  longer  a  task  to  be  done  for  a  re¬ 
ward ;  it  is  the  joyful  expression  of  filial 
The  wliole  relatimi  ol  ttie  soul  to  God  is  changed, 
and  all  our  feelings  and  conduct  change  with  it. 
Though  we  have  no  works  to  perform  in  order  to 
justification,  we  have  every  thing  to  do  hi  order  to 


188 


JUSTIFICATION. 


manifest  our  gratitude  and  love.  Do  we,  therefore, 
make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid  :  yea, 
we  establish  the  law.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
real,  acceptable  obedience  until  we  are  thus  deliver 
ed  from  the  bondage  of  the  law  as  the  rule  of  justi¬ 
fication,  and  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of 
his  Son.  Till  then  we  are  slaves  and  enemies,  and 
have  the  feelings  of  slaves.  When  we  have  ac¬ 
cepted  the  terms  of  reconciliation  we  are  the  sons 
of  God  and  have  the  feelings  of  sons. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  filial 
obedience  rendered  by  the  children  of  God  is  the 
effect  of  the  mere  moral  influence  arising  from  a 
sense  of  his  favour.  Though  pp’-haps  the  strongest 
influence  which  any  external  consideration  can 
exert,  it  is  far  from  being  the  source  of  the  holi¬ 
ness  which  always  follows  faith  The  very  act 
by  which  we  become  interested  in  the  redemption 
of  Christ,  from  the  condemnation  of  the  law, 
makes  us  partakers  of  his  Spirit.  It  is  not  mere 
pardon,  or  any  other  isolated  blessing,  that  is  offer¬ 
ed  to  us  in  the  gospel,  but  complete  redemption, 
deliverance  from  evil  and  restoration  to  the  love  and 
life  of  God.  Those,  therefore,  who  believe,  are 
not  merely  forgiven,  but  are  so  united  to  Christ,  that 
they  derive  from  and  through  him,  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  is  his  great  gift,  bestowed  upon  all  who  come 
to  Him  and  confide  in  Him.  This  is  the  reason  why 


JUSTIFICATION 


189 


he  says,  Without  me,  ye  can  do  nothing.  As  the 
branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in 
the  vine ;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in 
me.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He  that 
abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit. 

The  gospel  method  of  salvation,  therefore,  is 
worthy  of  all  acceptation.  It  reveals  the  divine 
perfections  in  the  clearest  and  most  affecting  light, 
and  it  is  in  every  way  suited  to  the  character  and 
necessities  of  men.  It  places  us  in  our  true  posi¬ 
tion  as  undeserving  sinners;  and  it  secures  pardon, 
peace  of  conscience  and  holiness  of  life.  It  is  the 
wisdom  and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  It 
cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  Scriptures 
represent  the  rejection  of  this  method  of  redemp¬ 
tion,  as  the  prominent  ground  of  the  condemnation 
of  those  who  perish  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel. 
That  the  plan  should  be  so  clearly  revealed  and  yet 
men  should  insist  upon  adopting  some  other  better 
suited  to  their  inclinations,  is  the  height  of  folly 
and  disobedience.  That  the  Son  of  God  should 
come  into  the  world  ;  die  the  just  for  the  unjust,  and 
offer  us  eternal  life,  and  yet  we  should  reject  his 
proffered  mercy,  proves  such  an  insensibility  to  his 
excellence  and  love,  such  a  love  for  sin,  such  a  dis¬ 
regard  of  the  approbation  and  enjoyment  of  God, 
that  could  all  other  grounds  of  condemnation  be 


JUSTIFICATION. 


rem<»ct^  hiv  vlone  would  be  sufficient.  He  tha% 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he 
hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begottep 
of  God. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


FAITH. 

i 

'  Section  I.  Faith  necessary  in  order  to  salvation*  The 
(  nature  of  saving  Faith. 

4 

However  abundant  and  suitable  may  be  the 
:  provision  which  God  has  made  for  the  salvation  of 
,  men,  there  are  many  who  fail  of  attaining  eternal 
life.  There  are  those  whom  Christ  shall  profit 
nothing.  Nay,  there  are  those  whose  condemna¬ 
tion  will  be  greatly  aggravated,  because  they  have 
i  known  and  rejected  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.  It  is,  therefore,  not  less  necessary 
that  we  should  know  what  we  must  do  in  order 
to  secure  an  interest  in  the  redemption  of  Christ, 
than  that  we  should  understand  whai  he  has  done 
for  our  salvation. 

[f  God  has  revealed  a  plan  of  salvation  for 
airiners,  iney  must,  in  order  to  be  savea,  acquiesce 
m  its  provisions.  By  whatever  name  it  may  be 
called,  the  thing  to  bt  done,  is  to  approve  and 

191 


192 


FAITH 


accept  of  the  terms  of  salvation  presented  in  the 
gospel.  As  the  plan  of  redemption  is  designe*!  for 
sinners,  the  reception  of  that  plan  on  our  part, 
implies  an  acknowledgment  that  we  are  sinners 
and  justly  exposed  to  the  displeasure  of  God.  To 
those  who  have  no  such  sense  of  guilt,  it  must 
appear  foolishness  and  an  offence.  As  it  proceeds 
upon  the  assumption  of  the  insufficiency  of  any 
obedience  of  our  own  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
the  law,  acquiescence  in  it,  involves  the  ,  renuncia¬ 
tion  of  all  dependence  upon  our  own  righteousness 
as  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God.  If 
salvation  is  of  grace,  it  must  be  received  as  such. 
To  introduce  our  own  merit,  in  any  form  or  to  any 
degree,  is  to  reject  it;  because  grace  and  works 
are  essentially  opposed  ;  in  trusting  to  the  one  we 
renounce  the  other. 

As  justification  is  pardon  and  acceptance  dis¬ 
pensed  on  the  ground  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  acquiesence  in  the  plan  of  salvation  involves 
the  recognition  and  acceptance  of  the  work  of 
Christ  as  the  only  ground  of  justification  before 
God.  However  much  the  child  of  God  may  be 
perplexed  with  anxious  doubts,  and  vain  endeavours, 
he  is  brought  at  last  to  see  and  admire  the  perfect 
simplicity  of  the  plan  of  mercy  ;  he  finds  that  it 
requires  nothing  on  his  part  but  the  acceptance  of 
what  is  freely  offered  ;  the  acceptance  of  it  as 


FAITH. 


193 


free  and  unmerited.  It  is  under  the  consciousness 
of  ill-desert  and  helplessness  that  the  soul  em 
braces  Jesus  Christ  as  he  is  presented  in  the 
gospel.  This  it  is  that  God  requires  of  us  in 
order  to  our  justification.  As  soon  as  this  is  done, 
we  are  united  to  Ohrist ;  he  assumes  our  responsi- 
oilities ;  he  pleads  our  cause  ;  he  secures  our 
pardon  and  acceptance  on  the  ground  of  what  he 
has  done ;  so  that  there  is  no  condemnation  to 
them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  nature  of  the  duty  required  of  us  in  order 
eo  our  justification,  is  made,  if  possible,  still  more 
plain  by  the  account  which  the  Bible  gives  of 
those  who  are  condemned.  They  are  described  as 
those  who  reject  Christ,  who  go  about  to  establish 
their  own  righteousness,  and  refuse  to  submit  to 
the  righteousness  of  God ;  as  those  who  look  to 
the  law  or  their  own  works,  instead  of  relying  on 
the  work  of  Christ.  They  are  those  who  reject 
the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves,  who,  igno¬ 
rant  of  their  character  and  of  the  requirements  of 
God,  refuse  to  be  saved  by  grace  through  the  re¬ 
demption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  w'ord  by  w'hich  this  acceptance  of  Christ  is 
commonly  expressed  in  the  Bible,  is  faith.  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not 
perish  bu*  have  eternal  life.  He  that  believeth  on 

17 


1^4 


FAITH. 


him  is’not  condemr.ed ;  but  he  that  believeth  not 
IS  condemned  already.  He  that  believeth  on  the 
8on  hath  everlasting  life  ;  he  that  believeth  not  the 
Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting,  life.  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea¬ 
ture  ;  he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved,  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.  Sirs, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  and  they  said,  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shall  be  saved. 
God  is  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth 
in  Jesus.  The  Gentiles  have  attained  righteousness, 
even  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith ;  but 
Israel  hath  not  attained  it,  because  they  sought  it 
not  by  faith.  Knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified 
by  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that 
we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ  and 
not  by  the  works  of  tht  law.  By  grace  are  ye 
saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it 
is  the  gift  of  God.  This  is  his  commandment, 
That  we  should  believe  on  his  son  Jesus  Christ. 
He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  wit¬ 
ness  in  himself. 

Language  so  plain  and  so  varied  as  this,  cannot  be 
misunderstood.  It  teaches  every  serious  inquirer 
after  the  way  of  life,  that  in  order  t?  salvation,  he 


FAITH. 


19i) 

must  believe  in  Jesus  Christ.  Still,  though  he 
knows  what  it  is  to  believe,  as  well  as  any  one  can 
tell  him,  yet  as  he  reads  of  a  dead,  as  well  as  of  a 
living  faith,  a  faith  of  devils  and  a  faith  of  God’s 
elect ;  as  he  reads  on  one  page  that  he  that  believes 
shall  be  saved,  and  on  another,  that  Simon  himself 
believed,  and  yet  remained  in  the  gall  of  bitterness 
and  the  bonds  of  iniquity,  he  is  often  greatly  per¬ 
plexed  and  at  a  loss  to  determine  what  that  faith  is 
which  is  connected  with  salvation.  This  is  a  diffi¬ 
culty  which  is  inseparable  from  the  use  of  lan¬ 
guage.  The  soul  of  man  is  so  wonderful  in  dts 
operations  ;  its  perceptions,  emotions,  and  affec¬ 
tions  are  so  various  and  so  complicated,  that  it  is 
impossible  there  should  be  a  different  word  for 
every  distinct  exercise.  It  is  therefore  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  same  word  should  be  used  to 
express  different  states  of  mind,  which  have  certain 
prominent  characteristics  in  common.  The  definite, 
in  distinction  from  the  general  or  comprehensive 
meaning  of  the  word,  is  determined  by  the  con¬ 
text;  by  explanatory  or  equivalent  expressions  ;  by 
the  nature  of  the  thing  spoken  of,  and  by  the 
effects  ascribed  to  it.  This  is  found  sufficient  for 
all  the  purposes  o^  intercourse  and  instruction 
We  can  spoak  without  being  misunderstood,  of 
loving  our  food,  of  loving  an  infant,  of  loving  a 
parent,  of  loving  God,  though  in  each  of  these 


FAITH. 


cases  the  word  love  represents  a  state  of  mind 
peculiar  to  itself,  and  different  from  all  the  others. 
There  is  in  all  of  them  a  pleasurable  excitement  on 
the  perception  of  certain  qualities,  and  this  we  call 
love,  though  no  two  states  of  mind  can  well  be 
more  distinct,  than  the  complacent  fondness  with 
which  a  parent  looks  upon  his  infant,  and  the 
adoring  reverence  with  which  he  turns  his  soul  to¬ 
wards  God. 

We  need  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  that  the 
word  faith  is  used  in  Scripture  to  express  very  dif¬ 
ferent  exercises,  or  states  of  mind.  In  its  widest 
sense,  faith  is  an  assent  to  truth  upon  the  exhibition 
of  evidence.  It  does  not  seem  necessary  that  this 
evidence  should  be  of  the  nature  of  testimony  ; 
for  we  are  commonly  and  properly  said  to  believe 
whatever  we  regard  as  true.  We  believe  in  the 
existence  and  attributes  of  God,  though  our  assent 
is  not  founded  upon  what  is  strictly  called  testi¬ 
mony.  But  if  faith  means  assent  to  truth,  it  is 
obvious  that  its  nature  and  attendants  must  vary 
with  the  nature  of  the  truth  believed,  and  especially 
with  the  nature  of  the  evidence  upon  which  our 
assent  is  founded.  A  man  may  assent  to  the  propo¬ 
sition,  that  the  earth  moves  round  its  axis,  that 
virtue  is  good,  that  sin  will  be  punished,  that  to 
him,  as  a  believer,  God  promises  salvation.  In  all 
these  cases  there  is  assent,  and  therefore  faith,  but 


FAITH. 


197 


the  state  of  mind  expressed  by  the  term,  is  not 
always  the  same.  Assent  to  a  speculative  or  abstract 
truth  is  a  speculative  act,  ;  assent  to  a  moral  truth, 
1$  a  moral  act;  assent  to  a  promise  made  to  our¬ 
selves,  is  an  act  of  trust.  Our  belief  that  the  earth 
moves  round  its  axis  is  a  mere  assent.  Our  belief 
in  the  excellence  of  virtue  is,  in  its  nature,  a  moral 
judgment.  Our  belief  of  a  promise  is  an  act  of 
trust.  Or  if  any  choose  to  say  that  trust  is  the 
result  of  assent  to  the  truth  of  the  promise,  it  may 
be  admitted  as  a  mere  matter  of  analysis,  but  the 
distinction  is  of  no  consequence,  because  the  two 
things  are  inseparable,  and  because  the  Scriptures 
do  not  make  the  distinction.  In  the  language  of 
the  Bible,  faith  in  the  promises  of  God  is  a  believ¬ 
ing  reliance,  and  no  blessing  is  connected  with 
mere  assent  as  distinguished  and  separated  from 
reliance. 

It  is,  however,  of  more  consequence  to  remark 
that  the  nature  of  the  act  by  which  we  assent  to 
truth,  is  modified  by  the  kind  of  evidence  upon 
which  our  assent  is  founded.  The  blind  may  be¬ 
lieve,  on  the  testimony  of  others,  in  the  existence 
of  colours  and  the  deaf  in  the  harmony  of  sounds, 
but  their  faith  is  rery  different  from  the  faith  of  those 
who  enjoy  the  exercise  of  the  sense  of  sight  or 
hearing.  The  universal  reputation  of  such  men 
as  Bacon  and  Newton  and  the  acknowledged 

17* 


198 


FAITH. 


influence  of  their  writings,  may  be  the  foundation 
of  a  very  rational  conviction  of  their  intellectual 
superiority.  But  a  conviction,  founded  upon  the 
perusal  and  appreciation  of  their  own  works,  is  of 
an  essentially  different  character.  We  may  believe 
on  the  testimony  of  those  in  whose  veracity  and 
judgment  we  confide,  that  a  man  of  whom  we 
know  nothing  has  great  moral  excellence.  But  if 
we  see  for  ourselves  the  exhibiti'on  of  his  excel¬ 
lence,  we  believe  for  other  reasons,  and  in  a  differ¬ 
ent  way.  The  state  of  mind,  therefore,  which,  in 
the  language  of  common  life  and  in  that  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  is  expressed  by  the  word  faith, 
varies  essentially  with  the  nature  of  the  evidence 
upon  which  our  belief  rests. 

One  man  believes  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of 
God,  and  the  facts  and  doctrines  therein  contained 
to  be  true,  simply  on  the  testimony  of  others. 
Born  in  a  Christian  land  and  taught  by  his  parents  to 
regard  the  Scriptures  as  a  revelation  from  God,  he 
yields  a  general  assent  to  the  truth,  without  troubling 
himself  with  any  personal  examination  into  the 
evidence  upon  which  it  rests.  Another  believes 
because  he  has  investigated  the  subject.  He  sees 
that  there  is  no  rational  way  of  accounting  for  the 
miracles,  the  accomplishment  of  predictions,  the 
success  and  influence  of  the  gospel,  except  upon 
the  assumption  of  its  divine  origin.  Others,  again. 


FAITH. 


I9£ 

believe  because  the  truths  of  the  Bible  commend 
themselves  to  their  reason  and  conscience,  and  ac* 
cord  with  their  inward  experience.  Those,  whose 
faith  rests  upon  this  foundation,  often  receive 
the  word  v/ith  joy,  they  do  many  things,  and  have 
much  of  the  appearance  of  true  Christians ;  or, 
like  Felix,  they  believe  and  tremble.  This  is  the 
foundation  of  the  faith  which  often  surprises  the 
wicked  in  their  last  hours.  Men  who  all  their  lives 
have  neglected  or  reviled  the  truth  and  who  may  have 
accumulated  a  treasury  of  objections  to  the  authority 
of  the  Scriptures,  are  often  brought  to  believe  by  a 
power  which  they  cannot  resist.  An  awakened 
conscience  affirms  the  truth  with  an  authority  be¬ 
fore  which  they  quail.  Their  doubts  and  sophis¬ 
tries  fly  aflrighted  before  the  majesty  of  this  new 
revealed  witness  for  the  truth.  To  disbelieve  is 
now  impossible.  That  there  is  a  God,  that  he  is 
holy  and  just,  and  that  there  is  a  hell,  they  would  give 
the  world  to  doubt,  but  cannot.  Here  is  a  faith 
very  different  in  its  origin,  nature,  and  effects  from 
that  which  rests  upon  the  authority  of  men,  or  upon 
external  evidence  and  argument.  Though  the  faith 
just  described,  is  generally  most  strikingly  exhibited 
at  the  approach  of  death,  it  often  happens  that  men 
who  are  habitually  careless,  are  suddenly  arrested 
in  their  career.  Their  conscience  is  aroused  and 
enlightened.  They  feel  those  things  to  be  true. 


200 


FAITH. 


which  before  tney  either  dei.ied  or  disregarded 
The  truth,  therefore,  has  great  power  over  them 
It  destroys  their  former  peace.  It  forces  them  to 
self-denial  and  the  performance  of  religious  duties. 
Sometimes  this  influence  soon  wears  off,  as  con¬ 
science  subsides  into  its  accustomed  slumber.  At 
others  it  continues  long,  even  to  the  end  of  life.  It 
then  constitutes  that  spirit  of  bondage  and  fear 
under  which  its  unhappy  subjects  endeavour  to 
work  out  a  way  to  heaven,  without  embracing  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  The  effects  produced 
by  a  faith  of  this  kind,  though  specifically  different 
from  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  are  not  always  easily 
detected  by  the  eye  of  man.  And  hence  many 
who  appear  outwardly  as  the  children  of  God,  are 
inwardly  under  the  dominion  of  a  spirit  the  oppo¬ 
site  of  the  loving,  confiding,  filial  temper  of  the 
gospel. 

7’here  is  a  faith  different  from  any  of  those  forms 
of  belief  which  have  yet  been  mentioned.  It  is  a 
faith  which  rests  upon  the  manifestation  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  of  the  excellence,  beauty,  and  suita¬ 
bleness  of  the  truth.  This  is  what  Peter  calls  the 
precious  faith  of  God’s  elect.  It  arises  from  a 
spiritual  apprehension  of  the  truth,  or  from  the  tes¬ 
timony  of  the  Spirit  with  and  by  the  truth  in  our 
hearts.  Of  this  faith  the  Scriptures  make  frequent 
mention.  Christ  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father 


FAITH. 


201 


Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed 
them  unto  babes. The  external  revelation  was 
made  equally  to  the  wise  and  to  the  babes.  To 
the  latter,  however,  was  granted  an  inward  illumi¬ 
nation  which  enabled  them  to  see  the  excellence  of 
the  truth,  which  commanded  their  joyful  assent. 
Our  Saviour  therefore  added.  No  man  knoweth 
wno  the  Son  is,  but  the  Father ;  and  who  the  Father 
is,  but  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal 
him.  When  Peter  made  his  confession  of  faith  in 
Christ,  our  Saviour  said  to  him.  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar-jona:  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  re¬ 
vealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven.t  Paul  was  a  persecutor  of  the  church ; 
but  when  it  pleased  God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  him, 
he  at  once  preached  the  faith  which  he  before  de¬ 
stroyed.  He  had  an  external  knowledge  of  Christ 
before ;  but  this  internal  revelation  he  experienced 
on  his  way  to  Damascus,  and  it  effected  an  instant 
change  in  his  whole  character.  There  was  nothing 
miraculous  or  peculiar  in  the  conversion  of  the 
apostle,  except  in  the  mere  incidental  circumstances 
of  his  case.  He  speaks  of  all  believers  as  having 
the  same  divine  illumination.  God,  he  says,  who 
commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath 


*  Luke  X.  21. 


j-  Matthew  xvi.  17. 


202 


FAITH. 


shined  into  our  hearts,  to  give  us  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  as  it  shines  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ.^  On  the  other  hand,  he 
speaks  of  those  whose  minds  the  god  of  this  world 
hath  blinded,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel 
of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  shine 
unto  them.  In  the  second  chapter  of  his  first 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he  dwells  much  upon 
this  subject,  and  teaches  not  only  that  the  true 
divine  wisdom  of  the  gospel  was  undisco verable 
by  human  wisdom,  but  that  when  externally  re¬ 
vealed,  we  need  the  Spirit  that  we  may  know  the 
things  freely  given  to  us  of  God.  For  the  natural 
man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he 
know  them  for  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 
Hence  the  apostle  prays  for  his  readers,  that  the 
eyes  of  their  understandings  (hearts)  might  be 
opened,  that  they  might  know  the  hope  of  their 
calling,  the  riches  of  their  inheritance,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  divine  power  of  which  they  were 
the  subjects.!  And  in  another  place,  that  the}- 
might  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  his  will,  in 
all  wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding.^  By 
spiritual  understanding  is  meant  that  insight  into 

*  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  j-  Eph.  i.  18,  19. 

t  Colossians,  i.  9. 


FAITH. 


203 


the  nature  of  the  truth  which  is  the  result  of  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  heart.  Since  faith 
is  founded  on  this  spiritual  apprehension,  Paul  says, 
he  preached  not  with  the  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,  because  a  faith  which  resulted  from  such 
preaching  could  be  at  best  a  rational  conviction ; 
but  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power, 
that  the  faith  of  his  hearers  might  stand,  not  in  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God.^  Hence 
faith  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit, 
the  gift  of  God,  the  result  of  his  operation.t  These 
representations  of  the  Scriptures  accord  with  the 
experience  of  the  people  of  God.  They  know 
that  their  faith  is  not  founded  upon  the  testimony 
of  others,  or  exclusively  or  mainly  upon  external 
evidence.  They  believe  because  the  truth  appears 
to  them  both  true  and  good ;  because  they  feel  its 
power  and  experience  its  consolations. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  faith  founded  upon  the 
spiritual  apprehension  of  the  truth,  as  it  differs  in 
its  origin,  must  also  differ  in  its  effects,  from  every 
other  kind  of  belief.  Of  the  multitudes  who  be* 
deve  the  Scriptures  upon  authority  or  on  the  ground 
sf  external  evidence,  how  large  a  portion  disre¬ 
gard  their  precepts  and  warnings!  To  say  that 
such  persons  do  not  believe,  though  true  in  one 


*  1  Cor.  ii.  4,  5. 


f  Eph.  ii.  8.  Col.  ii.  12 


204 


FAITH. 


sense,  is  not  true  in  another.  They  do  believe 
and  to  assert  the  contrary  is  to  contradict  their  con 
sciousness.  The  state  of  mind  which  they  exhibit, 
is  in  the  Bible  called  faith,  though  it  is  dead. 
This  rational  conviction,  in  other  cases,  combined 
with  other  causes,  produces  that  decorous  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  duties  of  religion  and  that  general  pro¬ 
priety  of  conduct,  which  are  so  often  exhibited  by 
the  hearers  of  the  gospel.  The  faith  wliich  is 
founded  on  the  power  of  conscience  produces  stili 
more  marked  effects ;  either  temporary  obedience 
and  joy,  or  the  despair  and  opposition  manifested 
by  the  convinced,  the  dying,  and  the  lost;  or  that 
laborious  slavery  of  religion  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken.  But  that  faith  which  is  the  gift 
of  God,  which  arises  from  his  opening  our  eyes  to 
see  the  excellence  of  the  truth,  is  attended  witl 
joy  and  love.  These  feelings  are  as  immediately 
and  necessarily  attendant  on  this  kind  of  faith,  as 
pleasure  is  on  the  perception  of  beauty.  Hence 
faith  is  said  to  work  by  love.  And  as  all  revealed 
truth  is  the  object  of  the  faith  of  which  we  now 
speak,  every  truth  must,  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  our  faith,  produce  its  appropriate  effect 
upon  the  heart.  A  belief  of  the  being  and  per¬ 
fections  of  God,  founded  upon  the  apprehension 
of  his  glory,  must  produce  love,  reverence  and 
confidence,  with  a  desire  to  be  conformed  *c  his 


FAITH. 


303 


image  Hence  the  apostle  says  :  We  all,  with  open 
face,  beholding,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  God, 
are  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to 
glory,  as  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord.^  Faith  in  his 
threatenings,  founded  upon  a  perception  of  their 
justice,  their  harmony  with  his  perfections,  and 
the  ill-desert  of  sin,  must  produce  fear  and  trembling. 
His  people,  therefore,  are  described  as  those  who 
tremble  at  his  word.  Faith  in  his  promises, 
founded  upon  the  apprehension  of  his  faithfulness 
and  power,  their  harmony  with  all  his  revealed 
purposes,  their  suitableness  to  our  nature  and  ne¬ 
cessities,  must  produce  confidence,  joy  and  hope. 
This  was  the  faith  which  made  Abraham  leave  his 
own  country,  to  go  to  a  strange  land  ;  which  led 
Moses  to  esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  This  was  the 
faith  of  David  also,  of  Samuel,  and  of  all  the 
prophets,  who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped 
the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  violence  of  fire, 
escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness 
were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  This  is  the  faith 
which  leads  all  the  people  of  God  to  confess  that 


*  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 
18 


206 


FAITH. 


they  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  upon  earth,  and 
that  they  look  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  This  is  the 
faith  which  overcomes  the  world,  which  leads  the 
believer  to  set  his  affections  on  things  above,  where 
Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  ;  which 
enables  him  to  glory  even  in  tribulation,  while  he 
looks  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen  ;  for  the  things  that  are 
seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  that  are  not  seen 
are  eternal. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  a  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
founded  upon  the  apprehension  of  the  glory  of  God, 
as  it  shines  in  him  ;  which  beholds  that  glory  as 
the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father  full  of 
grace  and  truth ;  which  contemplates  the  Redeemer 
as  clothed  in  our  nature  ;  the  first  born  of  many 
brethren  ;  as  dying  for  our  sins,  rising  again  for 
our  justification,  ascending  into  heaven  and  as  now 
seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  he  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us  ?  Such  a  faith 
the  apostle  tells  us,  must  produce  love,  for  he  says. 
Whom  having  not  seen  ye  love,  and  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye 
rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory 
The  soul  gladly  receives  him  as  a  Saviour  in  all 
the  characters  and  for  all  the  purposes  for  which  he 
is  revealed  ;  and  naturally  desires  to  be  conformed 


FAITH. 


207 


to  his  and  to  make  known  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  his  grace  to  others. 

It  is  no  less  obvious  that  no  one  can  believe  the 
representations  given  in  the  Scriptures  respecting 
the  character  of  man  and  the  ill-desert  of  sin,  with 
a  faith  founded  upon  right  apprehension  of  the  holi¬ 
ness  of  God  and  the  evil  of  his  own  heart,  without 
experiencmg  self-condemnation,  self-abhorrence, 
and  a  constant  hungering  and  thirsting  after  right¬ 
eousness.  Thus  of  all  the  truths  in  the  word  of 
God,  it  may  be  said,  that  so  far  as  they  are  believed 
in  virtue  of  this  spiritual  apprehension,  they  will 
exert  their  appropriate  influence  upon  the  heart 
and  consequently  upon  the  life.  That  such  a  faith 
should  not  produce  good  fruits  is  as  impossible  as 
that  the  sun  should  give  light  without  heat.  This 
faith  is  the  living  head  of  all  right  affections  and 
of  all  holy  living;  without  it  all  religion  is  a  dull 
formality,  a  slavish  drudgery,  or  at  best  a  rational¬ 
istic  homage.  Hence  we  are  said,  to  live  by  faith, 
to  walk  by  faith,  to  be  sanctified  by  faith,  to  over¬ 
come  by  faith,  to  be  saved  by  faith.  And  the  grand 
characteristic  of  the  people  of  God  is,  that  they  are 
Believers. 


FAITH. 


208 


Section  II.  Faith  as  connected  with  justijication. 

What  has  been  said  hitherto  is  designed  to  dlus 
trate  the  nature  of  saving  faith,  as  it  is  represented 
in  the  Scriptures.  It  differs  from  all  other  acts 
of  the  mind  to  which  the  term  faith  is  applied, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  nature  of  the  evidence  on 
which  it  is  founded.  The  Bible,  however,  is  more 
definite  in  its  instructions  on  this  subject.  Besides 
teaching  us  that  there  is  a  faith  which  receives  as 
true  all  the  declarations  of  God,  in  virtue  of  an 
evidence  exhibited  and  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
it  tells  us  what  those  particular  acts  of  faith  are, 
which  secure  our  justification  before  God.  It  plainly 
teaches  that  we  are  justified  by  those  acts  of  faith 
which  have  a  special  reference  to  Christ  and  his 
mediatorial  work.  Thus  we  are  said  to  be  justi¬ 
fied  by  faith  in  his  blood.*  The  righteousness  of 
God  is  said  to  be  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ ;  that  is, 
by  faith  of  which  he  is  the  object.!  This  expres¬ 
sion  occurs  frequently  ;  Knowing,  says  the  apostle, 
that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  be¬ 
lieved  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by 
me  faith  of  Christ.^:  Not  having  my  own  righteous 


*  Rom.  iii.  25. 


!  Rom.  iii  22. 


i  Gal.  ii.  16. 


FAITH. 


20? 


which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ.*  In  all  these  places  and  in  many 
‘Others  of  a  similar  kind,  it  is  expressly  stated  that 
Christ  is  the  object  of  justifying  faith.  The  same 
doctrine  is  taught  in  those  numerous  passages,  in 
which  justification  or  salvation  is  connected  with 
believing  in  Christ.  Whosoever  believeth  in  him 
shall  not  perish  but  have  eternal  life.t  He  that  be¬ 
lieveth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life.J  Whoso¬ 
ever  believeth  on  him  shall  receive  remission  of 
sins.§  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved.  1|  The  same  truth  is  involved  in  all 
the  representations  of  the  method  of  justification 
given  in  the  word  of  God.  We  are  said  to  be 
justified  by  the  death  of  Christ,  by  the  blood  of 
his  cross,  by  the  redemption  that  is  in  him,  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself,  by  his  bearing  our  sins,  by  his 
obedience,  or  righteousness.  All  these  representa¬ 
tions  imply  that  Christ  in  his  mediatorial  character, 
is  the  special  object  of  justifying  faith.  It  is  indeed 
impossible  that  any  man  should  believe  the  record 
which  God  has  given  of  his  Son,  without  believing 
every  other  record  which,  he  has  given,  so  far  as  it 
is  known  and  apprehended  ;  still  the  special  act  of 
faith,  which  is  connected  with  our  justification,  i? 

*  Phil.  iii.  9.  j-  John  iii.  16.  ^  Ibid.  36, 

^  Acts  X.  43.  I  Acts  xvi.  31. 


18* 


210 


FAITH. 


belief  m  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  from  sin. 
And  when  we  are  commanded  to  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Scriptural  meaning  of  the  expression  is 
that  we  should  trust,  or  confide  in  him.  It  does  not 

express  mere  assent  to  the  proposition  that  Jesus  is 

• 

the  Christ,  which  angels  and  devils  exercise  ;  but 
it  expresses  trust  which  involves  knowledge  and 
assent.  To  believe  in  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for 
sin,  is  to  receive  and  confide  in  him  as  such. 

From  this  representation  it  is  clear  what  we  must 
do  to  be  saved.  When  the  mind  is  perplexed  and 
anxious  from  a  sense  of  sin  and  the  accusations  of 
conscience ;  when  the  troubled  spirit  looks  round 
for  some  way  of  escape  from  the  just  displeasure 
of  God,  the  voice  of  mercy  from  the  lips  of  the 
Son  of  God  is,  come  unto  me,  believe  upon  me, 
submit  to  be  saved  by  me.  Till  this  is  done, 
nothing  is  done.  And  when  this  cordial  act  of  faith 
in  Christ  is  exercised,  we  are  accepted  for  his 
sake,  and  he  undertakes  to  save  us  from  the  do 
minion  and  condemnation  of  our  sins.  The  expe 
rience  of  the  people  of  God,  when  they  are  made 
the  recipients  of  that  divine  illumination  which 

reveals  to  them  the  glory  of  God,  their  own  unwor 

« 

thiness,  and  the  plan  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ, 
is  no  doubt  very  various.  It  is  modified  by  their 
previous  knowledge,  by  their  peculiar  state  of  mind, 
by  the  particular  truth  which  happens  to  attract 


FAITH. 


211 


their  attention,  by  the  clearness  of  the  manifestation 
and  by  many  other  circumstances.  This  diversity 
is  readily  admitted,  yet  since  no  man  can  come 
unto  the  Father  but  by  the  Son  ;  since  without  faith 
in  him  there  is  no  forgiveness  and  no  access  to  God, 
it  must  still  be  true  that,  with  greater  or  less  distinct¬ 
ness  of  apprehension,  Christ  and  nis  mediatorial 
vvork  constitute  the  object  of  the  first  gracious  exer¬ 
cises  of  the  renewed  soul.  Any  approach  to  God, 
any  hope  of  his  favour,  any  peace  of  conscience  or 
confidence  of  pardon,  not  founded  upon  him,  must 
be  delusive.  Having,  (that  is,  because  we  have) 
such  an  High  Priest  we  come  with  boldness  to  the 
throne  of  grace ;  and  this  is  the  only  ground  on 
which  wm  can  venture  to  draw  near.  The  who\e 
plan  of  redemption  shows  that  there  is  no  pardon, 
no  access  to  God,  no  peace  or  reconciliation  except 
through  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  idea  is  so  con¬ 
stantly  presented  in  the  Bible,  that  all  genuine  reli¬ 
gious  experience  must  be  in  accordance  with  it. 

It  is,  however,  of  such  vital  importance  for  the 
sinner  distinctly  to  understand  what  it  is  that  is  re¬ 
quired  of  him,  that  God  has  graciously  so  illus¬ 
trated  the  nature  of  saving  faith  that  the  most 
illiterate  reader  of  the  Scriptures  may  learn  the  way 
of  life.  It  is  not  merely  by  the  term  faith,  or 
believing,  that  this  act  of  the  soul  is  expressed, 
but  by  many  others  of  equivalent  import.  The 


212 


FAITH. 


consideration  of  a  few  of  these  will  serve  to  explain 
more  distinctly  the  plan  of  salvation,  by  showing 
at  once  the  nature,  object  and  office  of  justifying 
faith. 

One  of  the  most  comprehensive  and  intelli¬ 
gible  of  these  equivalent  terms  is  that  of  receiving. 
To  as  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he 
power  to  become  the  soji^s  of  God/^  As  ye  have 
therefore  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  so  walk  ye 
in  him.t  Believers  are  therefore  described  as  those 
who  receive  the  gift  of  righteousness ;  J  as  those 
who  gladly  receive  the  word.§  To  receive  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  accept  and  recognise  him  in  the  charac¬ 
ter  in  which  he  presents  himself,  as  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  as  a  propitiation  for 
our  sins,  as  a  ransom  for  our  souls,  as  the  Lord 
our  righteousness.  He  came  to  his  own  and  his 
own  received  him  not.  The  Jews  would  not  re¬ 
cognise  him  as  the  Messiah,  the  only  mediator 
between  God  and  man,  as  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness.  They  denied  the  Holy  One,  and  put 
far  from  them  the  offer  of  life  through  him.  Could 
the  nature,  the  object,  or  office  of  faith  be  presented 
more  clearly  than  the}  are  by  this  representation  ? 
Can  the  soul,  anxious  about  salvation,  doubt  wha 


*  John  i.  12 
j:  Rom.  V.  17. 


f  Col.  ii.  6. 

§  Acts  ii.  41. 


FAITH. 


213 


I 


I  il;  has  to  do?  Jesus  Christ  is  presented  to  him  in 
[  the  gospel  as  the  Son  of  God,  clothed  in  our  nature. 
\  sent  by  the  Father  to  make  reconciliation  for  ini¬ 
quity,  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  to 
redeem  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law  by  being  made 
a  curse  for  us.  All  that  we  have  to  do,  is  to  receive 
I  him  in  this  character ;  and  those  who  thus  receive 
him  he  makes  the  sons  of  God,  that  is,  the  objects 
of  his  favour,  the  subjects  of  his  grace  and  the 
heirs  of  his  kingdom. 

A  still  more  simple  illustration  of  the  nature  of 
faith  is  contained  in  those  passages  in  which  we 
are  commanded  to  look  unto  God.  Look  unto  me 
and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth. ^  Our  Sa¬ 
viour  avails  himself  of  this  figure,  when  he  says.  As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  should  not  perish  but  have  eter¬ 
nal  life.t  The  dying  Israelite,  who  was  commanded 
to  turn  his  feeble  eye  on  the  brazen  serpent,  was 
surely  at  no  loss  to  know  the  nature  of  the  duty 
required  of  him.  He  knew  there  was  no  virtue  itj 
the  act  of  looking.  He  might  look  in  vain  all 
round  the  wide  horizon.  He  was  healed,  not  for 
looking,  but  because  the  serpent  was  placed  there 
by  the  command  of  God,  and  salvation  made  to 


*  Is.  xlv.  22. 


■j"  John  iii.  14,  15. 


214 


FAITH. 


depend  upon  subruiuing  to  the  appointed  method  ot 
relief.  Why  then  should  the  soul  convinced  of  sin 
and  misery  be  in  doubt  as  to  what  it  has  to  do  i 
Christ  has  been  set  forth  as  crucified  ;  and  we  are 
commanded  to  look  to  him  and  be  saved.  Can 
any  thing  be  more  simple  ?  Must  not  every  at¬ 
tempt  to  render  more  intelligible  the  Saviour’s 
beautiful  illustration,  serve  onlv  to  darken  counsel 
by  words  without  wisdom  ? 

Another  striking  illustration  of  this  subject,  may 
be  found  in  Heb.  vi.  18,  where  believers  are  de¬ 
scribed  as  those  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay 
hold  of  the  hope  set  before  them.  As  of  old,  the 
man-slayer,  when  pursued  by  the  avenger  of  blood, 
fled  to  the  city  of  refuge,  whose  gates  were  open 
night  and  day,  and  whose  highways  were  always 
unincumbered;  so  the  soul,  under  the  sense  of  its 
guilt  and  convinced  that  it  must  perish  if  it  remains 
vihere  it  is,  flees  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  appointed 
refuge  and  finds  peace  and  security  in  him.  There 
the  avenger  cannot  touch  him ;  there  the  law 
which  before  denounced  vengeance,  spreads  its 
ample  shield  around  him  and  gives  him  the  assu¬ 
rance  of  safety. 

A  still  more  common  method  of  expressing  the 
act  of ‘saving  faith  is  to  be  found  in  such  passages 
as  John  vi.  35.  He  that  cometh  to  me  shall  nevei 
hur  ger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  nevoi 


FAITH. 


215 


thirst.  All  that  the  Father  giveth  to  me  shall  come 
to  me ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out.  Here  coming  and  believing  are  in¬ 
terchanged  as  expressing  the  same  idea.  So  also 
in  the  following  chapter,  where  our  Saviour  says, 
If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink 
He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  waters. 
Hence  the  invitations  and  commands  of  the  gospel  are 
often  expressed  by  this  word.  Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest.  And  in  the  closing  invitation  of  the  sa¬ 
cred  volume.  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come  ; 
and  let  him  that  heareth,  say.  Come ;  and  let  him 
that  is  athirst  come  ,  and  whosoever  will,  let  him 
take  the  water  of  life  freely. 

Though  this  language  is  so  plain  that  nothing  but 
the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  can  render  it  plainer, 
yet  the  troubled  soul  perplexes  itself  with  the 
inquiry,  what  is  it  to  come  to  Christ?  Though 
assured  that  he  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us,  we 
are  often  forced  to  cry  out,  O  that  I  knew  where 
[  might  find  him  !  tha+  [  might -come  even  to  his 
seat.  Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there; 
and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him  ;  on  the 
left  hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot  behold 
aim;  he  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  1 
Kannot  see  him.  It  is  often  the  very  simplicity  >f 


216 


FAITH. 


the  requirement  that  deceives  us.  We  think  we 
must  do  some  great  thing,  which  shall  bear  a  cei 
tain  proportion  to  the  blessing  connected  with  it. 
We  cannot  believe  that  it  is  merely  looking,  merely 
receiving,  merely  coming  as  the  prodigal  came  to  his 
father,  or  as  the  Israelite  came  to  the  high  priest  who 
was  appointed  to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the 
people.  Yet  is  it  even  thus  that  we  must  come  to 
the  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  with  confession 
of  sin,  and  submit  to  the  application  of  his  blood 
as  the  appointed  means  of  pardon,  and  rejoice  in 
the  assurance  of  the  divine  favour.  Or  still  more 
impressively,  as  the  Hebrew  believer  came  to  the 
altar,  laid  his  hand  with  confession  upon  the  head 
of  the  victim,  and  saw  it  die  in  his  stead,  so  does 
the  trembling  soul  come  to  Christ  as  its  propitiatory 
sacrifice,  and  confiding  in  the  efficacy  of  his 
death,  looks  up  to  God  and  says.  My  Father ! 
Coming  to  Christ,  therefore,  is  the  confiding  re 
ception  of  him  in  the  offices  and  for  the  purposes 
for  which  he  is  presented  in  the  word  of  God, 
as  our  mediator  and  priest,  as  our  advocate  with 
jhe  Father,  as  ouT  Redeemer  and  Lord. 

Another  term  by  which  faith  is  expressed  is 
submitting.  This  is  not  to  be  understood  as  mean¬ 
ing  a  submission  to  the  will  of  God  as  a  sovereign 
ruler,  a  giving  up  all  our  controversy  with  him  and 
resigning  ourselves  into  his  hands.  All  this  is 


FAITH. 


217 


auty,  but  it  is  not  saving  faith.  The  submission 
required  is  submission  to  the  revealed  plan  of 
salvation ;  it  is  the  giving  up  all  excuses  for  our 
sins,  all  dependence  upon  our  own  righteousness, 
and  submitting  to  the  righteousness  which  God 
has  provided- for  our  justitication.  This  is  what 
the  Jews  refused  to  do,  and  perished  in  unbelief.* 
This  is  what  we  must  do,  in  order  to  be  saved. 
Men,  when  sensible  of  their  guilt  and  danger,  are 
perplexed  and  anxious  about  many  things.  But 
there  is  only  one  thing  for  them  to  do.  They 
must  submit  to  be  saved  as  ungodly,  as  sinners,  as 
entirely  undeserving,  solely  for  Christ’s  sake. 
They  must  consent  to  allow  the  robe  of  his  right¬ 
eousness  to  be  cast  over  all  their  nakedness  and 
blood,  that  they  may  be  found  in  him,  not  having 
their  own  righteousness,  but  the  righteousness  which 
is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Then  will  they  be  pre¬ 
pared  to  join  that  great  multitude  which  stand 
before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  in 
white  robes  and  palms  in  their  hands,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice.  Salvation  to  our  God  who  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb,  for  thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  thy  blood,  out 
"if  every  kindred,  and  people,  and  tongue,  and 


*  Rom.  X.  3.  and  xi.  20. 
19 


218 


FAITH. 


nation,  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests. 

It  is  thus  that  the  Bible  answers  the  question, 
What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  We  are  told  to  be¬ 
lieve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  to  set  forth  the 
nature,  the  object  and  office  of  this  faith,  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  employ  the  most  significant  terms  and  illus 
tralions,  in  order  that  we  may  learn  to  renounce 
ourselves  and  our  works,  and  to  be  found  in  Christ 
depending  solely  upon  what  He  has  done  and  suf¬ 
fered  as  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God. 
Those  who  thus  believe,  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life  ;  they  are  no  longer  under  condemnation  : 
they  have  peace  with  God  and  rejoice  in  hope  of 
his  glory.  As  this  faith  unites  them  with  Christ, 
it  makes  them  not  only  partakers  of  his  death,  but 
of  his  life.  The  Holy  Spirit,  given  without  meas¬ 
ure  to  him,  is  through  him  given  unto  them,  and 
works  in  them  the  fruits  of  holiness,  which  are  unto 
the  praise  and  glory  of  God. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


i 

REPENTANCE. 

* 

Clearly  as  the  Scriptures  teach  that  whosoever 
believes  shall  be  saved,  they  teach  no  less  clearly 
that  except  we  repent  we  shall  all  perish.  These 
I  graces  are  not  only  alike  indispensable,  but  they 
i  cannot  exist  separately.  Repentance  is  a  turning 
from  sin  unto  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  faith 
is  the  acceptance  of  Christ  in  order  to  our  return  to 
I  God.  Repentance  is  the  act  of  a  believer;  and 
i  faith  is  the  act  of  a  penitent.  So  that  whoever  be- 
ilieves  repents  ;  and  whoever  repents  believes. 

The  primary  and  simple  meaning  of  the  word 
commonly  used  in  the  New  Testament  to  express 
the  idea  of  repentance,  is  a  change  of  mind,  as  the 
result  of  reflection.  In  this  sense,  it  is  said.  There 
is  no  repentance  with  God.  He  is  not  a  man  that 
he  should  repent.  In  the  same  sense  it  is  said, 
that  Esau  found  no  place  for  repentance,  when  he 
was  unable  to  effect  a  change  in  the  determination 
of  his  father.  In  the  ordinary  religious  sense  of  the 

219 


220 


REPENTANCE. 


lerm,  it  is  a  turning  from  sin  unto  God.  This  is  the 
account  commonly  given  of  it  in  the  word  of  God. 
I  thought  upon  my  ways,  said  the  Psalmist,  and 
turned  my  feet  unto  thy  testimonies.^  When  the 
wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his  wickedness, 
that  he  hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which  is 
lawful  and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive.t  Let 
the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God, 
for  he  will  abundantly  pardon. J  And  Solomon, 
in  his  prayer  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  said. 
If  the  people  shall  bethink  themselves  in  the  land 
whither  they  were  carried  away  captives,  and  shall 
repent  and  make  supplication  unto  thee,  saying, 
Wc  have  sinned  and  done  perversely,  we  have 
committed  wickedness,  and  so  return  unto  thee  with 
all  their  heart  and  with  all  their  soul;  then  hear 
their  prayer  and  their  supplication  in  heaven  thy 
dwelling  place,  and  maintain  their  cause. §  To 
repent,  then,  is  to  turn  from  sin  unto  God.  But  as 
there  is  a  repentance  which  has  no  connexion 
with  salvation,  it  becomes  us  to  search  the  Scriptures 
that  we  may  learn  the  characteristics  of  that  repent¬ 
ance  which  is  unto  life. 


*  Ps.  cxix.  59. 
4  Is.  \v.  7. 


f  Ezek.  xviii.  27. 

§  1  Kings,  viii,  47, 49. 


REPENTANCE. 


221 


As  conviction  of  sin  is  an  essential  part  of  re¬ 
pentance  and  as  that  point  has  already  been  con¬ 
sidered,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  dwell  long  upon 
this  general  subject.  The  prominence,  however, 
given  to  it  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  large  space 
which  it  occupies  in  the  experience  of  Christians, 
demand  that  the  nature  of  this  turning  from  sin, 
which  is  so  often  enjoined,  should  be  carefully 
studied. 

There  is  one  general  truth  in  relation  to  this 
point  which  is  clearly  taught  in  the  Bible ;  and 
that  is,  that  all  true  repentance  springs  from  right 
views  of  God.  The  language  of  Job  may  with 
more  or  less  confidence  be  adopted  by  every  Chris¬ 
tian  :  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the 
ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee  ;  wherefore  I 
abhor  myself  in  dust  and  ashes.* 

The  discovery  of  the  justice  of  God  serves  to 
awaken  conscience,  and  often  produces  a  fearful 
looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation. 
This  is  the  natural  and  reasonable  effect  of  a  clear 
apprehension  of  the  rectitude  of  the  divine  charac¬ 
ter,  as  of  a  judge  who  renders  to  every  one  his 
due.  There  are  accordingly  many  illustrations  of 
ihe  effects  of  this  apprehension  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures.  Fearfulness  and  trembling,  said  the 


* 


Job  xlii.  5,  6. 
19* 


222 


REPENTANCE. 


Psalmist,  are  fallen  upon  me ;  and  horror  hath 
overwhelmed  me.^  While  I  suffer  thy  terrors  I 
am  distracted.  Thy  fierce  wrath  goeth  over  me. 
Thy  terrors  have  cut  me  off.t  There  is  no  rest  in 
my  bones  because  of  my  sins  For  my  iniquities 
have  gone  over  my  head,  as  a  heavy  burden  they 
are  too  heavy  for  me.J  These  fearful  forebodings 
are  so  common  in  the  experience  of  the  people  of 
God,  that  the  earlier  writers  make  terror  of  con¬ 
science  a  prominent  part  of  repentance.  There 
are,  however,  two  remarks  upon  this  subject, 
which  should  be  borne  in  mind.  The  first  is, 
that  these  exercises  vary  in  degree  from  the  intole¬ 
rable  anguish  of  despair,  to  the  calm  conviction  of 
;he  judgment  that  we  are  justly  exposed  to  the 
displeasure  of  God.  And  secondly,  that  there  is 
nothing  discriminating  in  these  terrors  of  con¬ 
science.  They  are  experienced  by  the  righteous 
and  the  unrighteous.  If  they  occurred  in  the  re¬ 
pentance  of  David,  they  did  also  in  that  of  Judas. 
Sinners  in  Zion  are  often  afraid  ;  and  fearfulness 
often  surprises  the  hypocrite.  These  fearful  appre¬ 
hensions,  therefore,  are  not  to  be  desired  for  their 
own  sake  ;  since  there  is  nothing  good  in  fear.  It 
is  reasonable  that  those  should  fear  who  refuse  lo 

*  Ps.  Iv.  5.  j-  Ibid.  Ixxxviii.  15,  IG. 

i  Ibid,  xxxviii.  3. 


REPENTANCE. 


223 


I  ;pent  and  to  accept  of  the  offers  of  mercy.  But 
there  is  nothing  reasonable  in  those  fears  which 
arise  from  unbelief,  or  distrust  of  the  promises  of 
God.  It  so  often  happens,  however,  in  the  expe* 
rience  of  the  people  of  God,  that  they  are  made 
sensible  of  their  guilt  and  danger,  before  they  have 
any  clear  apprehensions  of  the  plan  of  redemp¬ 
tion,  that,  in  fact,  fear  of  the  wrath  of  God  enters 
largely  into  the  feelings  which  characterise  their 
conversion.  The  apprehension  of  the  holiness  of 
God  produces  awe.  The  angels  in  heaven  are 
represented  as  veiling  their  faces,  and  bowing  with 
reverence  before  the  Holy  One.  Something  of  the 
same  feeling  must  be  excited  in  the  minds  of  men 
by  the  discovery  of  His  infinite  purity.  It  cannot 
fail,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  state  of  his  mind, 
to  excite  awe.  This,  however,  may  be  mingled 
with  love,  and  express  itself  in  adoration  ;  or  it 
may  co-exist  with  hatred,  and  express  itself  in 
blasphemy.  Very  often  the  effect  is  simply  awe  ; 
(or  at  least  this  is  the  prominent  emotion,)  and  the 
soul  is  led  to  prostrate  itself  in  the  dust.  The  moral 
character  of  this  emotion  can  only  be  determined 
by  observing  whether  it  is  attended  with  compla¬ 
cency  in  the  contemplation  of  infinite  purity,  and 
•  with  a  desire  of  larger  and  more  constant  discov¬ 
eries  of  it ;  or  whether  it  produces  uneasiness  and 


224 


REPENTANCE. 


a  desire  that  the  vision  may  be  withdrawn  and  we 
be  allowed  to  remain  at  ease  in  our  darkness. 

In  the  next  place,  this  discovery  of  the  holiness 
of  God  cannot  fail  to  produce  a  sense  of  our  own 
unworthiness.  It  is  in  his  light  that  we  see  light. 
It  is  by  the  apprehension  of  his  excellence  that  we 
learn  our  own  vileness.  4nd  as  no  man  can  be 
aware  that  he  appears  vile  in  the  sight  of  others, 
without  a  sense  of  shame,  we  find  that  this  emotion 
is  described  as  being  one  of  the  most  uniform  at¬ 
tendants  upon  repentance.  Thus  Ezra,  in  nis 
penitential  prayer,  says,  O  my  God  !  I  am  ashamed 
and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to  thee  my  God ;  foi 
our  iniquities  are  increased  over  our  head,  and  our 
trespass  is  grown  up  unto  the  heavens.*  Daniel 
expresses  the  same  feeling  when  he  says,  O  Lord, 
righteousness  belongeth  unto  thee,  but  unto  us  con¬ 
fusion  of  face,  as  at  this  day.t  And  God  when 
describing  the  restoration  of  his  people,  even  when 
assuring  them  of  pardon,  says.  Thou  shalt  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  that  thou  mayestbe  confounded 
and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  because  of  thy 
shame,  when  I  am  pacified  towards  thee,  for  all 
that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God.:j: 

As  the  consciousness  of  unworthiness  when  we 


*  Ezra  ix.  6 


j-  Dan.  ix.  7. 


^  Ezek.  xvi.  63. 


REPENTANCE. 


225 


think  of  others,  produces  shame  so,  when  we 
think  of  ourselves,  it  produces  self-abhorrence. 
This  latter  feeling,  therefore,  also  enters  into  the 
nature  of  true  repentance.  In  the  strong  language 
of  the  suffering  patriarch  already  quoted,  the  sinner 
abhors  himself  and  Repents  in  dust  and  ashes.  In 
another  passage  the  same  distinguished  servan  of 
God  says.  Behold  I  am  vile ;  what  shall  I  answer 
thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth.*  And 
the  prophet  describing  the  repentance  of  the  people 
says.  Ye  shall  remember  your  ways  and  all  your 
doings,  wherein  ye  have  been  defiled  ;  and  ye  shall 
loathe  yourselves  in  your  own  sight,  for  all  the  evil 
that  ye  have  committed.!  It  is  not  the  strength, 
but  the  nature  of  these  feelings,  which  determines 
the  character  of  our  repentance.  Their  nature  is 
the  same  in  all  true  penitents  ;  their  strength  varies 
in  every  particular  case.  In  all,  however,  the  sense 
of  sin  destroys  that  self-complacency  with  which 
sinners  soothe  themselves,  thanking  God  they  are 
not  as  other  men.  It  humbles  them  before  God,  and 
places  them  in  the  position  which  he  would  have 
them  occupy.  To  this  man  will  I  look,  saith  the 
Lord,  even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite 
spirit  and  tremble th  at  my  word.J  With  such  h 
soul  God  condescends  to  take  up  his  abode.  Fox 


*  Job  xl.  4. 


!  Ezek.  XX.  43. 


4:  Is.  Ixvi.  2. 


226 


REPENTANCE. 


thus  saith  the  High  and  Lofty  One  who  inhabit 
eth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy;  I  dwell  in  the 
high  and  holy  place,  with  him  also  who  is  of  a 
contrite  and  humble  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of 
the  humble  and  to  revive  the  heart  of  the  contrite 
ones.* 

This  humbling  sense  of  our  unworthiness,  w'hich 
produces  true  contrition  and  self-abasement,  is  es¬ 
sential  to  repentance.  Most  men  are  willing  to 
acknowledge  themselves  to  be  sinners ;  but  they 
are  at  the  same  time  disposed  to  extenuate  their 
guilt ;  to  think  they  are  as  good  as  could  be  rea¬ 
sonably  expected ;  that  the  law  of  God  demands 
too  much  of  beings  so  frail  as  man,  and  that  it 
would  be  unjust  to  visit  their  deficiencies  with 
any  severe  punishment.  The  change  which  con¬ 
stitutes  repentance  destroys  this  disposition  to  self¬ 
justification.  The  soul  bows  down  before  God 
under  the  consciousness  of  inexcusable  guilt.  It 
stands  self-condemned,  and,  instead  of  regarding  God 
as  a  hard  master,  it  acknowledges  that  he  is  righteous 
ill  all  his  demands,  and  in  all  his  judgments.  Such 
were  the  feelings  of  David,  when  he  said,  I  ac¬ 
knowledge  my  transgressions,  and  my  sin  is  ever 
before  me.  Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned 
and  done  this  evil  ia  thy  sight,  that  thou  mightest  be 


*  Is.lvii.  15 


REPENTANCE. 


227 


justified  when  thou  speakest,  and  cleur  when  thou 
judgest.^  The  same  feeling  is  expressed  by  Ezra  ' 
0  Lord  God  of  Israel  thou  art  righteous  .  .  be¬ 
hold  we  are  before  thee  in  our  trespasses,  tor  we 
cannot  stand  before  thee  because  of  this.t  And 
Nehemiah  uses  language  to  the  same  efifect;  Thou 
art  just  in  all  that  is  brought  upon  us  ;  for  thou 
hast  done  right,  tut  we  have  done  wickedly. | 
There  can,  therefore,  be  ho  true  repentance  without 
this  contrite  spirit  of  self-condemnation  and  abase¬ 
ment. 

The  confession  of  sin,  on  which  the  Scriptures 
lay  so  much  stress,  is  the  outward  expression  of 
this  inward  sense  of  ill-desert.  It  is  not  enough 
that  we  should  secretly  condemn  ourselves.  God 
requires  a  full  and  ingenuous  confession  of  our 
sins.  And  this  our  own  hearts  will  prompt  us  to 
make.  As  there  is  no  desire  in  the  penitent  to  ex- 
enuate  his  guilt,  so  there  is  no  disposition  to  con¬ 
ceal  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  soul  is  anxious  to 
acknowledge  every  thing;  to  take  shame  to  itself^ 
and  to  justify  God.  We  accordingly  find  that  a 
large  part  of  the  penitential  portions  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  is  taken  up  in  recording  the  confessions  of 
the  people  of  God.  When  I  kept  silence,  said  the 
Psalmist,  my  bones  waxed  old  through  my  roaring 


Ps.  li.  4. 


f  Ezra  ix.  15. 


t  Neh.  ix.  33. 


228 


REPENTANCE. 


all  the  day  long.  For  day  and  night  thy  hand  was 
heavy  upon  me ;  iny  moisture  was  turned  into  the 
drought  of  summer.  I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto 
thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid.  I  said  I 
will  confess  my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord ;  and 
thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin.*  So  long  as 
he  attempted  to  conceal  his  guilt,  he  found  no  re* 
lief ;  the  hand  of  God  continued  to  press  heavily 
upon  him ;  but  when  he  acknowledged  his  trans¬ 
gressions  he  obtained  forgiveness.  The  wise  man 
therefore  says,  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not 
prosper ;  but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them, 
shall  find  mercy .t  The  New  Testament  is  equally 
explicit  as  to  this  part  of  our  duty.  If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth 
is  not  in  us.  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful 
and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness. J 

This  confession  must  be  made  to  the  person 
against  whom  we  have  sinned.  If  we  have  sinned 
against  our  fellow  men,  we  must  confess  to  them. 
If  we  have  sinned  against  the  church,  we  must 
confess  to  the  church ;  and  if  we  have  sinned 
against  God,  our  confession  must  be  made  to  God. 
The  Old  Testament,  in  commanding  restitution  in 
case  of  injury  done  to  our  neighbour,  thereby  com* 


•  Ps.  xxxii.  3. 


Prov.  xxviii.  13.  ^  1  John  i.  8,  9. 


REPENTANCE  229 

rnanded  acknowledgement  to  be  made  to  the  in¬ 
jured  party.  And  in  the  New  Testament  we  are 
required  to  confess  our  faults  one  to  another.^  As, 
however,  the  great  majority  of  our  sins  are  com¬ 
mitted  against  God,  it  is  to  him  that  our  confessions 
are  to  be  principally  made.  And  even  in  those 
cases  in  which  we  sin  against  men,  we,  in  a  still 
higher  sense,  sin  against  God.  Our  sense  of  guilt  in 
his  sight,  therefore,  will  prevail  over  the  sense  of 
our  injustice  to  those  whom  we  have  offended. 
Thus  David,  though  he  had,  in  the  most  grievous 
manner,  sinned  against  his  neighbour,  was  so  af- 
fecied  with  the  enormity  of  his  sin  as  committed 
against  God,  that  he  said.  Against  thee,  thee  only 
have  I  sinned  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight.!  In 
tne  inspired  records  of  penitential  sorrow,  we  ac¬ 
cordingly  find  that  confession  is  constantly  made  to 
God.  Let  thine  ear  now,  said  Nehemiah,  be  atten¬ 
tive  and  thine  eyes  open,  that  thou  mayest  hear  the 
prayer  of  thy  servant  which  I  pray  before  thee, 
now  day  and  night,  for  the  children  of  Israel  thy 
servants,  and  confess  the  sins  of  the  children  of 
Israel  which  we  have  sinned  against  thee  ;  both  I 
and  my  father’s  house  have  sinned,  and  have  dealt 
very  corruptly  against  thee,  have  not  kept  the  com¬ 
mandments  or  the  statutes,  nor  the  judgments  which 

*  James  v.  16  f  Ps.  H.  4. 

20 


230 


REPENTANCE. 


thou  commandest  thy  servant  Moses.  Indeed  the 
greater  portion  of  the  remarkable  prayers  of  Daniel, 
Ezra,  and  Nehemiah,  which  form  the  most  authen¬ 
tic  record  of  the  exercises  of  genuine  repentance, 
is  taken  up  with  confessions  of  sin ;  which  shows 
how  essential  such  confession  is  to  the  proper  dis¬ 
charge  of  this  duty.  No  man,  therefore,  whose 
heart  does  not  lead  him  freely,  fully  and  humbly 
to  acknowledge  his  sin  before  God,  can  have  any 
satisfactory  evidence  that  he  truly  repents. 

There  is  indeed  a  confession  which  remorse  ex¬ 
torts  from  the  lips  of  those  whose  hearts  know 
nothing  of  that  godly  sorrow  which  is  unto  life. 
Thus  Judas  went  to  his  accomplices  in  treachery 
and  said,  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood ;  and  then  went  and  hanged  himself. 
This,  however,  is  very  different  from  that  ingenu¬ 
ous  acknowledgment  of  sin  which  flows  from  a 
broken  spirit,  and  which  is  the  more  full  and  free, 
the  stronger  the  assurance  of  forgiveness. 

Though  the  Scriptures  plainly  teach  that  in  all 
true  repentance  there  is  a  sense  of  sin,  self-loath¬ 
ing,  self-condemnation,  sorrow  and  confession,  yet 
such  is  the  poverty  of  human  language,  that  these 
very  terms  may  be,  nay,  must  be,  employed  to 
express  the  exercises  of  those  who  do  not  truly  re¬ 
pent.  It  is  said  of  Judas  that  he  repented  ;  and  we 
eannot  doubt  that  his  repentance  included  a  convic- 


REPENTANCE. 


231 


lion  of  guilt,  sorrow,  self-abhorrence  and  confes¬ 
sion.  Yet  all  this  was  nothing  more  than  the  ope¬ 
ration  of  that  impenitent  remorse  which  often  drives 
men  to  despair,  and  which  serves  to  feed  the  fire 
that  never  shall  be  quenched.  Although  we  are 
forced  to  describe  the  exercises  which  attend  the 
sorrow  of  the  world,  and  those  which  accompany 
the  sorrow  which  is  of  God,  by  the  same  terms, 
they  are  nevertheless  essentially  different  in  their 
nature.  There  is  a  gleam  of  hope  and  a  glow  of 
love  pervading  the  exercises  of  the  true  penitent, 
which  impart  to  all  his  exercises  a  peculiarity  of 
character,  and  cause  them  to  produce  effects  spe¬ 
cifically  different  from  those  which  flow  from 
despairing  remorse,  or  the  agitations  of  an  awakened 
conscience.  His  views  of  the  justice  and  holiness 
of  God  produce,  not  only  a  conviction  of  sin  and 
sorrow  for  having  committed  it ;  but  also  an  earnest 
desire  to  be  delivered  from  it  as  the  greatest  of  ail 
evils,  and  an  anxious  longing  after  conformity  to 
the  image  of  God,  as  the  greatest  of  all  blessings. 
The  repentance  of  the  ungodly  consists  in  the  ope¬ 
rations  of  conscience  combined  with  fear ;  the 
repentance  of  the  godly,  of  the  operations  of  con 
science  combined  with  love.  The  one  is  the  sor¬ 
row  of  the  malefactor ;  the  other  the  sorrow  of  ^ 
child.  The  one  tends  to  despair  and  opposition  to 
God  ;  the  other  to  hope  and  a  desire  after  his  favour 


232 


REPENTANCE. 


Both  may  lead  to  obedience  ;  but  the  obedience  in 
the  one  case  is  slavish ;  in  the  other,  filial.  In  the 
one  case  it  is  mere  penance ;  in  the  other  it  is  re¬ 
pentance. 

The  circumstance  which,  perhaps,  most  per¬ 
ceptibly  distinguishes  true  repentance  from  mere 
conviction  and  remorse,  is,  that  the  former  flows 
from  the  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God.  There 
is  no  hope  in  the  repentance  of  the  ungodly.  They 
may  see  by  the  light  of  conscience  and  of  the  divine 
law,  that  their  sins  are  exceedingly  great.  They 
may  be  filled  with  terror  from  the  apprehension  of 
divine  justice,  and  even  humbled  and  confounded 
under  a  view  of  the  infinite  holiness  of  God  and  of 
their  own  vileness,' but  there  is  no  sense  of  forgiv¬ 
ing  mercy,  no  apprehension  of  the  divine  favour. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  turning  towards  God,  they 
turn  from  him.  After  the  example  of  Adam,  they 
would  gladly  hide  themselves  from  his  .presence. 
And  so  terrible,  at  times,  is  that  presence,  that  they 
madly  seek  a  refuge  from  it  in  the  darkness  of  the 
grave,  or  call  upon  the  rocks  and  the  mountains  to 
cover  them.  This  is  the  sorrow  which  worketh 
death.  But  in  every  case  of  real  turning  unto  God, 
there  is  more  or  less  distinct  apprehension  of  his 
mercy.  This  may  be  so  feeble  as  only  to  enable 
che  soul  to  say.  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  I  will  trust 
m  him ;  or,  Who  kiioweth  if  he  will  return  and  re- 


REPENTANCE. 


233 


pent  and  leave  a  blessing  behind  him  or,  to  adopt 
the  language  of  David,  If  I  shall  find  favour  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord,  he  will  bring  me  again.  But  if 
he  thus  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  him ;  behold 
here  am  I,  let  him  do  to  me  as  seemeth  good  unto 
him.t  This,  however,  is  sufficient  to  turn  fear  into 
hope,  and  rebellion  into  submission. 

It  may  be  that  the  hope  which  saves  the  soul 
from  sinking  into  despair  and  which  prevents  it 
from  turning  from  God  in  aggravated  opposition, 
is  at  times,  nothing  more  than  a  conviction  that  he 
is  merciful,  without  any  distinct  apprehension  of 
the  way  in  which  his  mercy  can  be  exercised,  or 
any  confident  persuasion  of  our  own  acceptance. 
Still  the  soul  believes  that  he  is  the  Lord,  the  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth.:}:  It  has  courage 
to  adopt  the  language  of  the  Psalmist :  Thou  God 
art  good  and  ready  to  forgive  ;  and  plenteous  in 
mercy  to  all  those  that  call  upon  thee.§  In  all  the 
records  of  penitence,  therefore,  contained  in  the 
Scriptures,  we  find  the  recognition  of  the  divine 
goodness  as  the  great  operative  principle  in  turning 
the  soul  unto  God.  Thus  Nehemiah  says.  Thou 
art  a  God  ready  to  pardon  gracious  and  merciful 


20* 


*  Joel  ii.  14. 

^  Ex.  xxxiv.  6 


I  2  Sam.  XV.  25,  26. 
§  Ps.  Ixxxvl.  5. 


234 


REPENTANCE. 


slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness.*  And  the 
prophet  presents  this  consideration  as  the  great 
motive  to  those  w^hom  he  calls  to  repentance  ;  Rend 
your  hearts  and  not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto 
the  Lord  your  God ;  for  he  is  gracious  and  repent- 
eth  him  of  evil.t 

But  inasmuch  as  there  can  be  no  confidence  of 
forgiving  mercy,  which  is  not  founded  on  the  reve¬ 
lation  of  the  purpose  of  God ;  and  as  there  is  no 
revelation  of  a  purpose  to  pardon  except  through 
the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  however  indis¬ 
tinct  may  be,  at  times,  the  view  which  the  soul  takes 
of  the  plan  of  salvation,  there  must  still  be  a  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  Saviour  in  all  authorized  expectations 
of  mercy.  The  penitent  may  not  know  how  God  can 
be  just  and  yet  the  justifier  of  sinners,  and  yet  be 
persuaded  not  only  that  he  is  merciful,  but  that  he  has 
found  a  ransom  and  can  consistently  save  us  from 
going  down  into  the  pit.  Doubtless,  however, 
under  the  light  of  the  gospel,  it  is  far  more  com¬ 
mon  that  the  soul  sees  all  that  it  discovers  of  the 
mercy  of  God  and  of  the  possibility  of  pardon  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  in  him  that  God 
has  revealed  himself  as  reconciled  unto  the  world, 
not  imputing  unto  men  their  trespasses.  It  is  be¬ 
cause  he  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  can  be  made 


•  Neh.  ix.  17. 


j-  Joel  ii.  13 


RE  PE  NT  AIN  CE. 


2iit 

the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.  All  evangelic^ 
hope  rests  on  the  assurance  that  though  we  have 
sinned  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus* 
Christ  the  righteous,  who  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  This  is  the  hope  which  is  effectual  in 
winning  the  soul  back  to  God.  It  is  the  discovery 
of  the  love  of  God  in  giving  his  own  Son  that 
whosoever  believes  on  him,  should  not  perish  but 
have  eternal  life.  It  is  this  that  breaks  the  hard 
heart,  revealing  to  it  the  exceeding  turpitude  of  its 
sins,  and  at  the  same  time  disclosing  the  readiness 
of  God  freely  to  forgive  those  who  come  to  him 
through  Christ.  It  is  therefore  not  so  much  the 
threatenings  of  the  law,  as  the  apprehension  of  the 
love  of  God,  which  turns  the  sinner  from  his  re¬ 
bellion,  and  draws  him  back  to  submission  and  obe¬ 
dience.  All  repentance  without  this  is  legal  and 
slavish.  It  is  such  as  that  of  Pharaoh,  or  Judas,  or  • 
of  the  thousands  whom  an  awakened  conscience 
and  fear  of  wrath  drive  from  their  former  sins,  and 
force  to  walk  in  clanking  chains  along  a  mistaken 
road  in  search  of  heaven.  This  is  the  only  repent¬ 
ance  which  conscience  and  the  apprehension  of  di¬ 
vine  justice  can  produce.  A  soul  cannot  approach 
an  unreconciled  God,  any  more  than  it  can  embrace 
a  consuming  fire.  A  sense  of  the  favour  of  God, 
or  a  hope  in  his  mercy,  is  essential  to  our  return  ■ 
mg  to  him  with  confidence  and  love. 


236 


REPENTANCE. 


There  is  indeed  a  belief  in  the  mercy  of  God 
which,  instead  of  leading  men  to  repentance,  en¬ 
courages  them  to  continue  in  sin.  This  is  a  belief 
which  arises  out  of  ignorance.  It  is  founded  on  a 
misapprehension  of  the  character  of  God.  It  is 
easy  for  those  who  know  nothing  of  the  divine  ho¬ 
liness  and  justice  and  who  look  upon  sin  as  a  mis¬ 
fortune  or  a  trifle,  to  believe  that  God  will  not  be 
severe  to  mark  iniquity.  To  such  persons  the 
mercy  of  God  seems  a  matter  of  course ;  restrict¬ 
ing  its  offers  to  no  class  of  men,  but  covering  with 
its  mantle  the  sins  of  the  penitent  and  of  the  rep¬ 
robate.  As  they  see  no  reason  why  God  should 
not  forgive,  they  easily  hope  in  his  mercy.  But 
when  their  eyes  are  opened  to  his  immaculate 
purity  which  forbids  his  looking  on  sin  with  allow¬ 
ance  ;  to  his  justice  which  forbids  him  to  spare  the 
guilty ;  to  the  strictness  of  his  law  and  to  the  fear¬ 
fulness  of  its  penalty ;  when  conscience  is  aroused 
and  adds  its  sanction  to  the  judgment  of  God,  in  a 
voice  whose  authority  and  power  can  neither  be 
questioned  nor  evaded,  then  these  hopes  of  mercy  are 
seen  to  be  as  the  spider’s  web.  They  are  swept  aw  ay 
in  a  moment,  and  the  difficulty  now  is,  to  believe 
that  pardon,  once  thought  so  certain,  is  even  possi¬ 
ble  Hence  the  assurances  that  God  is  plenteous 
111  mercy  and  ready  to  forgive  are  so  numerous  and 
earnest  in  the  Scriptures.  Hence  the  way  in  which 


REPENTANCE, 


237 


meicy  can  be  exercised,  consistently  with  those 
attributes  which  are  seen  to  enter  into  the  essential 
excellence  of  God,  is  so  clearly  set  forth.  Hence 
the  invitations,  the  promises,  yea,  even  the  oath  of 
God,  are  given  to  beget  hope  in  the  mind  of  the 
convinced  and  humbled  sinner.  It  is  not  the  whole, 
but  the  sick,  who  need  the  physician  ;  and  it  is  not 
for  the  careless,  who  feel  no  need  of  pardon,  but 
for  the  anxious,  who  fear  that  there  is  scarcely 
room  for  mercy,  that  these  assurances  are  given. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  that  hope  of  mercy  which 
springs  from  ignorance  and  indifference,  which  is 
operative  in  the  work  of  repentance,  but  that  which 
is  founded  upon  the  promises  of  God  embraced  by 
faith.  It  is  an  enlightened  hope.  The  soul  in 
entertaining  it,  knows  something  of  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  pardon,  and  something  of  the  method 
in  which  mercy  can  be  consistently  exercised. 
Such  a  hope  is  not  a  matter  of  course  ;  nor  is  it  an 
easy  attainment.  The  sense  of  sin,  the  testimony 
of  conscience,  the  holiness  of  God,  the  honour  of 
his  law,  are  all  apparently  opposed  to  any  reason¬ 
able  expectation  of  forgiveness.  And,  therefore, 
although  the  declarations  o"  Scripture  are  so  explicit 
on  the  subject,  it  often  happens  that  the  awaken¬ 
ed  sinner  feels  that  though  these  declarations  may 
be  true  in  reference  to  others,  they  cannot  be  true 
as  it  regards  himself  And  when  the  goodness  of 


238 


REPENTANCE. 


God  is  rerealed  to  him ;  when  he  sees  the  divine 
love  surmounting  all  difficulties,  no  shipwrecked 
mariner  surrounded  by  darkness  and  tossed  by  tem¬ 
pests,  hails  with  greater  joy  the  break  of  day  than 
does  such  a  soul  the  revelation  of  divine  mercy. 
It  is  not  Joy  merely ;  it  is  wonder,  gratitude  and 
love  that  take  possession  of  his  soul  and  fill  him 
with  the  purpose  of  living  devoted  to  God  his 
Redeemer.  It  is  this  hope  which  gives  new  life  to 
the  soul,  and  accomplishes  its  return  from  the 
service  of  sin  to  the  service  of  God. 

Hope  in  the  mercy  of  God  being  thus  important, 
it  is  the  great  design  of  the  Bible  to  reveal  the  love 
of  God  to  sinners,  in  order  to  bring  them  back  from 
their  apostasy.  The  sacred  volume  is  full  of  in 
struction  on  this  important  subject.  Every  com¬ 
mand  to  repent,  implies  a  readiness  on  the  part  of 
God  to  forgive.  Every  institution  of  divine  wor¬ 
ship  implies  that  God  is  willing  to  receive  those 
who  return  to  him.  Every  instance  of  pardon 
mentioned  in  the  Bible  is  left  on  record  to  show 
that  there  is  forgiveness  with  God  that  he  may  be 
feared.  With  the  same  view  he  has  given  those 
declarations  of  his  mercy,  long-suffering  and  love, 
with  which  the  Scriptures  abound.  And  above  all, 
for  this  purpose  has  he  set  forth  his  Son  as  a  pro¬ 
pitiation  for  our  sins,  that  we  may  see  not  only  that 
he  IS  merciful,  but  how  he  can  be  merciful  and  yet 


REPENTANCE. 


239 


just.  These  offers  of  mercy  are  made  to  all  who 
hear  the  gospel,  even  to  those  whose  sins  are  as 
scarlet,  or  red  like  crimson;  and  none  lose  the 
benefit  of  them  who  do  not  voluntarily  and  wickedly 
reject  them ;  either  carelessly  supposing  that  they 
need  no  forgiveness,  or  unbelievingly  refusing  to 
accept  of  pardon  on  the  only  terms  on  which  it  can 
be  granted. 

That  repentance,  therefore,  which  is  unto  life,  is 
a  turning  ;  not  a  being  driven  away  from  sin  by 
fear  and  stress  of  conscience,  but  a  forsaking  it  as 
evil  and  hateful,  with  sincere  sorrow,  humility  ana 
confession  ;  and  a  returning  unto  God,  because  he 
is  good  and  willing  to  forgive,  with  a  determination 
to  live  in  obedience  to  his  commandments. 

There  are  but  two  ways  in  which  we  can  judge 
of  the  genuineness  of  this  change.  The  one  is 
the  comparison  of  our  inward  experience  with  the 
word  of  God;  the  other  the  observation  of  its 
effects.  As  every  man  is  conscious  of  his  own 
feelings,  attention  and  comparison  will  generally 
enable  him  to  ascertain  their  character.  He  may 
tell  whether  he  has  had  such  views  of  the  justice 
and  holiness  of  God  as  to  produce  a  conviction  of 
his  own  sinfulness  and  ill-desert;  whether  he  has 
been  forced  to  give  up  his  self-complacency  and  to 
feel  that  aisapprobation  of  his  character  and  con¬ 
duct,  which  leads  the  soul  to  confess  with  shame 


240 


REPENTANCE. 


and  sorrow  its  guilt  and  pollution  in  the  sight  of 
God.  He  may  tell  whether  he  has  had  such  appre¬ 
hensions  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  as  to 
induce  him  to  return  to  his  heavenly  Father,  witn  a 
strong  desire  after  his  favour,  and  with  a  firm  deter¬ 
mination  to  live  to  his  glory.  These  are  the  exer¬ 
cises  which  constitute  repentance,  and  he  who  is 
conscious  of  them  may  know  that  he  is  turned  from 
death  unto  life. 

As,  however,  true  self-knowledge  is  the  most 
aitficult  of  all  attainments  ;  and  as  the  feelings,  un- 
'ess  unusually  strong,  are  hard  to  be  detected  in 
their  true  nature,  the  surest  test  of  the  character  of 
any  supposed  change  of  heart  is  to  be  found  in  its 
permanent  effects.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them,  is  a  declaration  as  applicable  to  the  right 
method  of  judging  of  ourselves  as  of  others.  What¬ 
ever,  therefore,  may  have  been  our  inward  expe¬ 
rience  ;  whatever  joy  or  sorrow  we  may  have  felt, 
unless  we  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance, 
our  experience  will  profit  us  nothing.  Our  re¬ 
pentance  needs  to  be  repented  of,  unless  it  leads  us 
to  confession  and  restitution  in  cases  of  private 
injury  ;  unless  it  causes  us  to  forsake  not  merely 
outward  sins,  which  attract  the  notice  of  others, 
but  those  which  lie  concealed  in  the  heart ;  unless 
It  makes  us  choose  the  service  of  God,  as  that 
which  is  right  and  congenial,  and  causes  us  to 


REPENTANCE. 


24i 


iive  not  for  ourselves  but  for  him  who  loved  us  and 
gave  himself  for  us 

There  is  no  duty  the  necessity  of  which  is  either 
more  obvious  in  itf3lf,  or  more  frequently  asserted 
in  the  word  of  God,  than  that  of  repentance.  Na¬ 
ture  itself  teaches  us  that  when  we  have  done 
wrong,  we  should  be  sorry  for  it,  and  turn  away 
from  the  evil.  Every  man  feels  that  this  is  a  rea¬ 
sonable  expectation  in  regard  to  those  who  have 
offended  him.  Every  parent  especially  looks  with 
anxiety  for  the  repentance  of  a  disobedient  child  ; 
and  he  considers  nothing  worthy  of  the  name,  but 
sincere  sorrow  and  a  return  to  affectionate  obedience. 
No  man  need  wonder,  therefore,  that  God  who  re 
quires  nothing  but  what  is  right  and  who  can 
require  nothing  less,  commands  all  men  every 
where  to  repent.  The  salvation  offered  in  the 
gospel,  though  it  be  a  salvation  of  sinners,  is  also 
a  salvation  from  sin.  The  heaven  which  it  promises 
is  a  heaven  of  holiness.  The  rivers  of  pleasure 
which  flow  from  the  right  hand  of  God,  are  filled 
with  the  pure  waters  of  life.  No  man,  therefore, 
can  be  saved,  who  does  not,  by  repentance,  forsake 
his  sins.  This  is  itself  a  great  part  of  salvation. 
The  inward  change  of  heart  from  the  love  and  ser¬ 
vice  of  sin,  to  the  love  and  service  of  God,  is  the 
great  end  of  the  death  of  Christ,  who  gave  himself 
for  his  church,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  h 

21 


242 


REPENTANCE. 


with  the  washing  of  water,  by  the  word,  that  he 
might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church,  not 
having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish.  A  sal¬ 
vation  for  sinners,  therefore,  without  repentance,  is 
a  contradiction. 

Hence  it  is  that  repentance  is  the  burden  of  evan¬ 
gelical  preaching.  Our  Saviour  himself  when  he 
began  to  preach,  said.  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  at  hand.^  And  when  he  came  into  Galilee 
preaching  the  gospel,  he  said.  The  time  is  fulfilled, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand,  repent  ye  and 
believe  the  gospel.t  The  commission  which  he 
gave  his  apostles  was.  That  repentance  and  remis¬ 
sion  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name 
among  all  nations. J  In  the  execution  of  this  com¬ 
mission  his  disciples  went  forth  and  preached.  Re¬ 
pent  ye  and  be  converted,  that  your  sins  may  be 
Motted  out,  when  the  times  of  refreshing  come 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.§  Paul,  in  the  ac¬ 
count  which  he  gave  Agrippa  of  his  preaching, 
said  that  he  showed  first  unto  them  in  Damascus, 
and  at  Jerusalem,  and  throughout  all  the  coasts  of 
Judea,  and  then  unto  the  Gentiles,  that  they  should 
repent  and  turn  unto  God,  and  do  works  meet  for 
repentance.il  And  he  called  upon  the  elders  at 

•  Matt.  iv.  17.  J  Mark  i.  15.  t  Luke  xxiv.  47. 

§  Acts  iii.  19.  8  Acts  xxvi.  20. 


REPENTANCE. 


.243 


Ephesus  to  bear  witness  that  he  had  taught  publicl}' 
and  from  house  to  house,  testifying  both  to  the  Jews 
and  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards  God  and 
faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.* 

Repentance  then  is  the  great,  immediate  and 
pressing  duty  of  all  who  hear  the  gospel.  They 
are  called  upon  to  forsake  their  sins  and  to  return 
unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  The  neglect  of 
this  duty,  is  the  rejection  of  salvation.  For,  as 
we  have  seen,  unless  we  repeni  we  must  perish. 
It  is  because  repentance  is  thus  indispensably  ne¬ 
cessary,  that  God  reveals  so  clearly  not  only  the 
evil  of  sin,  and  the  terrors  of  his  law,  but  his  infinite 
compassion  and  love ;  that  he  calls  upon  us  to 
turn  unto  him  and  live,  assuring  us  that  he  is  the 
Lord,  the  Lord  God  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth. 
This  call  to  repentance  commonly  follows  men  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave.  It  is  one  of  the  first  sounds 
which  wakes  the  infant’s  ear ;  it  is  one  of  the  last 
which  falls  on  the  failing  senses  of  the  dying  sin 
ner.  Every  thing  in  this  world  is  vocal  with  the^ 
voice  of  mercy  All  joy  and  all  sorrow  are  calls 
to  return  unto  God  with  whom  are  the  issues  of 
life.  Every  opening  grave,  every  church,  every 
page  of  the  B  .ble,  is  an  admonition  or  an  invitation 


•  Acts  XX.  21. 


244 


REPENTANCE. 


Every  serious  thought  or  anxious  foreboding  is  the 
voice  of  God,  saying,  Turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye 
die  ?  It  is  through  all  these  admonitions  that  men 
'force  their  way  to  death.  They  perish,  becausf 
they  deliberately  reject  salvation. 

It  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  redemption,  that 
under  the  economy  of  mercy,  all  duties  are  graces. 
Though  repentance  is  our  duty,  it  is  not  less  the 
gift  of  God.  Those  who  wrest  the  Scriptures  to 
their  own  destruction,  gladly  seize  on  such  truths 
either  as  an  excuse  for  delay,  under  pretence  of 
waiting  God’s  time,  or  as  a  palliation  of  the  guilt 
of  a  hard  and  impenitent  heart.  But  those  who 
feel  the  greatness  of  the  work  required  of  them, 
rejoice  in  the  truth,  and  rouse  themselves  with  new 
energy  to  their  duty,  no  longer  a  hopeless  task,  and 
with  all  earnestness  work  out  their  own  salvation, 
because  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  them  to  will  and 
♦o  do,  according  to  his  own  pleasure.  * 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

Section  I.  The  nature  and  necessity  of  a  public  profeg 
sion  of  religion. 

Religion  consists  in  a  great  measure  in  the 
secret  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God ;  in  those 
acts  of  adoration,  gratitude,  confidence  and  submis¬ 
sion  which  the  eye  of  man  cannot  see,  and  with 
which  the  stranger  cannot  intermeddle.  These 
secret  exercises  by  controlling  the  external  conduct, 
and  by  supplying  the  motives  for  the  humble  de¬ 
meanor  and  benevolent  actions  of  the  Christian, 
cannot  indeed  fail  to  manifest  their  existence ;  but 
all  unnecessary  parading  them  upon  the  notice  of 
others  borders  on  the  offence  which  our  Saviour 
condemned  in  the  ancient  Pharisees.  Agreeably 
to  his  directions,  our  alms  are  to  be  given  in  secret , 
when  we  pray  we  should  pray  in  secret,  and  when 
we  fast,  we  should  not  appear  unto  men  to  fast,  but 
unto  our  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret.  In  these 

21*  245 


240 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


words  Christ  does  more  than  condemn  hypocrisy ; 
he  not  only  forbids  the  performance  of  religious 
duties  with  the  design  of  being  seen  of  men,  but  he 
teaches  that  true  religion  is  unobtrusive  and  retiring. 
It  avoids  the  glare  of  day.  It  is  holy,  solemn, 
secret,  rejoicing  in  being  unobserved.  It  is  directly 
opposed  to  the  ostentatious  display  of  religious 
feelings  in  which  those  delight,  who  seem  to  make 
religion  consist  in  talking  about  it. 

Although  religion  is  thus  retiring  in  its  character, 
and  although  it  consists  in  a  great  measure  in  the 
secret  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God,  it  never¬ 
theless  has  its  social  and  public  relations,  which 
render  it  impossible  that  a  true  Christian  should 
desire  to  keep  the  fact  of  his  being  a  Christian  a 
secret  from  the  world.  This  is  indeed  often  attempted, 
for  a  time,  by  those  whose  faith  is  weak,  and  who 
dread  the  reproach  with  which  a  profession  of 
religion  is,  under  many  circumstances,  attended. 
The  temptation  to  such  concealment  cannot  well  be 
appreciated  by  those  who  have  always  lived  in  the 
bosom  of  a  religious  society,  where  the  profession 
of  religious  sentiments  is  a  passport  to  confidence 
and  respect.  Such  persons  little  know  the  trial  to 
which  those  of  their  brethren  are  exposed  whose 
parents  or  associates  view  all  experimental  religion 
with  hatred  or  contempt,  and  who  visit  every 
manifestation  of  pious  feeling  with  the  chastisement 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


247 


of  cruel  mockings.  To  a  greater  or  less  degree,  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  of  God,  are  called  upon 
to  endure  this  trial;  and  they  are  often  tempted  to 
ask  whether  they  cannot  be  religious  without  letting 
it  be  known.  If  religion  is  a  secret  thing,  why 
may  it  not  be  kept  a  secret  ?  To  this  question  the 
answer  is  simple  and  decisive.  The  confession 
of  Christ  before  men  is  declared  in  Scripture  to 
be  essential  to  salvation.  Whosoever,  said  our 
Saviour,  confesseth  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
confess  before  my  father  which  is  in  heaven ;  but 
whosoever  denieth  me  before  men,  him  will  1 
also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.* 
Again,  whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of 
my  words  in  this  adulterous  generation  ;  of  him 
also  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  he 
cometh  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  and  with  the  holy 
angels.t  Paul  also  in  writing  to  Timothy  says, 
Be  not  ashamed  of  the  testimony  of  the  Lord,  nor 
of  me  his  prisoner,  but  be  thou  partaker  of  the 
afflictions  of  the  gospel  according  to  the  power  of 
God.ij;  11  we  suffer,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him  ; 
if  we  den}"  him,  he  also  will  deny  us.§  And  still 
more  explicitly,  when  teaching  the  condition  of 
salvation,  he  says,  If  tnou  shalt  confess  with  thy 


*  Matt  X.  32.  33.  j  Mark  viii.  38. 

§  2  Tim.  ii.  12. 


+  2  Tim.  i.  8. 


248 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shall  believe  in  th} 
heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  mar. 
believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  unto  salvation.*  The  same 
truth  is  taught  in  all  those  passages  which  assert 
the  necessity  of  baptism,  because  baptism  involves 
a  public  profession  of  the  gospel.  Thus  our  Sa¬ 
viour  in  his  commission  to  the  apostles  said.  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.t  And 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  people  were 
convinced  of  the  sin  of  having  rejected  Christ,  and 
asked  what  they  should  do,  Peter  answered.  Repent 
and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.J  It  was  not  enough  that  they 
should  retire  to  their  houses  and  repent  before 
God ;  they  must  publicly  acknowledge  Christ  and 
their  allegiance  to  hvm.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
condition  of  discipleship  more  clearly  laid  down 
than  this.  If  we  do  not  confess  Christ,  he  will 
not  confess  us.  If  we  do  not  acknowledge  him  as 
our  Saviour,  he  will  not  acknowledge  us  as  his 
disciples.  If  we  are  not  willing  to  share  with  him 
in  the  reproach  and  contradiction  of  sinners,  we 
cannot  share  in  the  glory  which  he  has  received 
from  the  Father. 


*  Rom.  X.  9,  10.  J  Mark  xvi.  16. 


t  Acts  iu  38. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


249 


The  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  Christ  as  our 
king  renders  a  public  acknowledgment  of  his  autho¬ 
rity  necessary.  In  the  kingdoms  of  this  world,  no 
one  is  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  citizenship 
without  a  profession  of  allegiance.  And  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  those  who  do  not  acknowledge 
his  authority,  reject  him.  By  refusing  to  confess 
him  as  Lord  they  declare  that  they  are  not  his 
people 

The  church  is  also  often  compared  in  Scripture 
to  a  family.  Can  a  child  live  in  his  father’s  house 
without  acknowledging  his  parent?  May  he  re¬ 
ceive  the  blessings  of  a  mother’s  love,  and  not  ac¬ 
knowledge  her  to  be  his  mother?  May  he  pass 
her  in  the  street  without  recognition,  and  then  steal, 
under  cover  of  the  night,  to  be  fed  at  her  table  and  to 
be  protected  by  her  care  ?  As  every  one  feels  that 
no  child,  with  proper  filial  feelings,  could  hesitate  to 
acknowledge  his  parents,  so  we  may  be  assured 
that  we  are  not  the  children  of  God,  if  we  are 
afraid  or  ashamed  to  acknowledge  him  as  our 
Father,  and  our  obligafions  to  honour  and  obey  him 

It  is  still  further  to  be  considered  that  Christians 
are  the  worshippers  of  Christ.  The  apostle  salutes 
the  Corinthians  as  those  who  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  ;  and  from  the  beginning,  in  Jeru¬ 
salem  and  al  Damascus,  Christians  were  designatec 


250 


PROFESSION  or  RELIGION. 


as  those  who  called  on  the  name  of  Christ.*  But ' 
what  kind  of  a  worshipper  is  he  who  is  ashamed  or 
afraid  to  acknowledge  his  God  ?  All  the  relations, 
therefore,  in  which  a  Christian  stands  to  Christ,  as 
his  king,  as  the  head  of  the  family  of  God  and  as 
the  object  of  divine  worship,  involve  the  necessity 
of  confessing  him  before  men ;  and  we  practically  il 
reject  him  in  all  these  relations  by  neglecting  or  | 
refusing  this  public  profession  of  him  and  his  jl 
religion. 

A  moment’s  consideration  of  the  nature  of  the  ; 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  must  convince  us  of  the  ' 
impossibility  of  being  a  secret  Christian.  Not  i 
the  heart  only,  but  the  whole  external  deport¬ 
ment  must  be  regulated  by  that  religion.  It  for¬ 
bids  many  things  which  the  world  allows ;  it  en¬ 
joins  many  things  which  the  world  forbids.  Obe¬ 
dience  to  its  precepts  of  necessity  includes  a  public 
profession  ;  because  such  obedience  draws  a  line  of 
distinction  between  its  disciples  and  the  people  of  the 
world.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  people 
of  God  are  called  saints.  They  are  distinguished, 
separated  from  others  and  consecrated  to  God. 
When  they  cease  to  be  thus  distinguished  from  those 
around  them,  they  cease  to  be  saints.  If  their  in 


Acts  ix.  14  21. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


251 


ward  temper  and  outward  conduct  do  not  mark 
them  out  as  a  peculiar  people,  they  are  not  Chris- 
^tians.  A  city  set  on  an  hill  cannot  be  hid.  It  cannot 
oe  that  those  who  deny  themselves  and  take  up  their 
;cross  and  daily  follow  Christ;  whose  affections  are 
set  upon  things  above  ;  who  walk  by  faith  and  not 
by  sight ;  who  live  unto  God  and  keep  themselves 
unspotted  from  the  world,  should  not  visibly  differ 
from  those  whose  spirit,  principles  and  objects  are 
all  worldly.  Nor  is  it  possible  that  this  difference 
should  exist,  without  an  avowal,  on  the  part  of  the 
Christian,  of  the  cause  of  it.  He  must  appeal  to 
I  the  authority  of  Christ  as  the  justification  of  his 
conduct,  and,  therefore,  cannot  live  as  a  Christian 
without  confessing  Christ. 

Besides  the  general  temper  and  deportment  re¬ 
quired  by  the  gospel,  there  are  many  specific  duties 
:  enjoined  by  Christ  which  imply  a  public  profession 
9f  his  religion.  The  organization  of  his  church 
sas  a  visible  society,  supposes  the  separation  of  a. 
people  recognising  his  authority,  and  professing  to 
act  in  obedience  to  his  laws.  The  commission 
which  he  ga  /e  to  his  disciples  was,  that  they  should 
'go  into  all  the  world,  preaching  his  gospel,  making 
disciples,  baptizing  them  in  his  name,  gathering 
them  into  distinct  societies  and  appointing  officers 
over  them  for  conducting  public  worship  and  for 
\he  exercise  of  discipline  All  this  supposes  that  h’s 


252 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


followers  should  constitute  a  body  publicly  ac* 
knowledging  him  as  their  head,  and  confessing  him 
as  their  Lord  and  Saviour  before  theVorld.  How 
can  a  man  keep  the  fact  of  his  being  a  Christian  a 
secret,  when  Christianity  is,  by  its  author,  made  tc 
assume  this  visible,  organized  form  ?  It  is  specially 
enjoined  upon  every  believer  to  associate  himself 
with  the  church,  to  assemble  with  his  fellow  Chris¬ 
tians  for  public  worship,  and  to  unite  with  them  in 
celebrating  the  Saviour’s  death  ?  If  a  Christian  ia 
one  who  obeys  Christ,  and  if  obedience  includes 
those  external  acts  which  involve  this  public  ac¬ 
knowledgment  of  him,  then  no  man  can  be  a  Chris¬ 
tian  who  does  not  make  this  acknowledo'ment. 

There  are  few  duties  (and  those  founded  on  posi¬ 
tive  precepts)  commanded  in  the  word  of  God, 
which  right  feelings  do  not,  of  themselves,  uro-e  us 
to  discharge.  If  we  are  required  to  forsake  sin, 
to  serve  God,  to  love  the  brethren,  to  live  for  others 
rather  than  ourselves,  to  be  instant  in  prayer,  to 
join  in  the  public  and  social  worship  of  God ; 
these  are  things  in  which  the  renewed  heart  in¬ 
stinctively  delights.  The  external  command  guides 
and  sanctions  the  performance  ;  but  the  motive  to 
obedience  is  not  mere  regard  to  authority.  In  like 
manner,  while  the  public  confession  of  Christ  is 
enjoined  in  Scripture  as  a  necessary  duty,  it  is,  at 
the  same  time,  the  spontaneous  tribute  of  every 


PROFESSIOIM  OF  RELIGION. 


253 


Christian  heart.  If  no  subject  requires  to  be  uiged 
to  acknowledge  a  sovereign  whom  he  loves  :  if  no 
child  needs  to  be  commanded  to  confess  a  parent 
whom  he  reveres,  much  less  does  the  believer 
need  to  be  forced  to  confess  the  Saviour  whom  he 
regards  as  the  brightness  of  the  Father’s  glory;  to 
whom  he  feels  indebted  for  redemption,  and  whom 
he  hopes  to  worship  and  serve  with  saints  and 
angels  in  heaven.  It  is  not  meant  to  be  asserted 
that  no  believer  is  ever  ashamed  of  Jesus  ;  nor  that 
under  circumstances  of  peculiar  trial  he  may  not 
fear  to  acknowledge  his  truth  or  to  assume  his 
name.  Peter  once  denied  his  master.  But  it  is 
certainly  true  that  no  man  can  have  right  view's  of 
Christ  and  right  feelings  towards  him,  without 
habitually,  openly  and  gladly  acknowledging  him 
as  his  God  and  Saviour.  He  will  esteem  the 
reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures 
of  Egypt,  and  choose  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with 
the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin  for  a  season. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  nature  of  the 
duty  now  under  consideration.  To  confess  Christ 
IS  to  recognise  his  character  and  claims.  It  is  to 
acknowledge  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  It  is  to 
admit  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  which  he  taught. 
It  is  to  profess  our  allegiance  to  him  as  our  Lord 
and  Saviour.  This  confession  must  be  public  ; 

22 


354 


PROl'ESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


must  be  made  before  men  ;  it  must  be  made  with 
the  mouth,  and  not  left  to  be  inferred  from  the 
conduct  It  should  be  remembered  that  this  in¬ 
cludes  more  than  the  mere  assumption  of  the  name 
Christian,  in  distinction  from  Pagan  or  Mahornme- 
dan.  If  men  misconceive  or  misrepresent  the 
character  of  Christ,  a  profession  of  simh  erroneous 
views  is  not  the  confession  which  he  requires.  To 
acknowledge  Christ  merely  as  a  good  man,  or  an 
inspired  teacher,  is  in  fact  to  deny  him  in  his  true 
character  as  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  propitiation  for 
sin,  as  the  only  mediator  and  the  sovereign  Loro 
of  the  living  and  the  dead.  And  to  acknowledge 
the  gospel  merely  as  a  code  of  morals,  is  to  rejeci 
it  as  the  revelation  of  the  grace  of  God.  The 
confession  w^hich  is  required  is  the  public  acknow¬ 
ledgment  of  Christ  in,  his  true  character,  and  of  his 
gospel  in  its  real  nature.  It  will  not  do  to  strip  the 
gospel  of  every  thing  offensive  to  human  pride  and 
to  acknowledge  the  rest.  The  very  thing  to  be 
done  is  to  take  the  shame  of  professing  what  is  a 
scandal  to  the  Jews  and  foolishness  to  the  Greeks. 
It  is  to  acknowledge  our  faith  and  confidence  in  a 
Saviour  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  and  in 
doctrines  which  human  reason  can  neither  discover 
nor  comprehenc' 

There  are  several  w'ays  in  which  this  public 
confession  is  to  be  made.  As  already  lemarke'l 


PROFESSION  CF  RELIGION 


355 


there  is  confession  included  in  the  obedience 
rendered  to  the  commands  of  Christ.  Obedience, 
therefore,  is  one  form  of  confession,  and  can  never 
be  rendered  without  distinguishing  those  who  yield 
it  as  the  followers  of  Christ.  Again,  occasions 
frequently  occur  in  which  Christians  are  called 
upon  to  avow  the  truth,  to  defend  it  against  gain- 
sayers,  to  urge  it  upon  those  over  whom  they  have 
influence  or  authority,  or  to  give  a  reason  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  them,  with  meekness  and  fear.  But 
the  chief  and  most  important  mode  of  confession  is 
attendance  upon  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord’s  supper.  So  much  prominence  is  given  to 
these  institutions,  in  the  word  of  God,  that  every 
Christian  should  have  clear  ideas  of  their  nature 
and  of  his  own  duty  in  regard  to  them. 


Section  II.  Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  Supper.  The  no* 
ture,  design  and  efficacy  of  these  ordinances. 

That  Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper,  whatever 
other  important  ends  they  may  be  intended  to  serve, 
were  appointed  as  a  mode  of  publicly  professing 
our  fiith  in  the  gospel,  is  clearly  taught  in  the  Bible 
The  public  Participation  of  the  rites  of  any  religion 
is,  in  its  nature,  a  profession  of  that  religion.  It  is 
on  this  ground  the  apostle  charges  with  idolatry  the 


256 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


Corinthians  who,  within  the  precincts  of  the  heathen 
temples,  partook  of  the  sacrifices  offered  to  idols. 
I  speak  as  to  wise  men,  judge  ye  what  I  say.  The 
participation  of  a  Christian  ordinance,  is  it  not  an 
act  of  Christian  worship  ?  The  participation  of  a 
Jewish  sacrifice,  is  it  net  an  act  of  Jewish  worship  ? 
and  by  parity  of  reasoning,  is  not  the  participation 
of  a  heathen  ordinance  an  act  of  heathen  worship  ? 
This  is  the  purport  of  the  apostle’s  argument  in 
I  Cor.  X.  15 — 21,  and  it  is  obviously  founded  on 
the  admitted  truth,  that  joining  in  the  celebration  oi 
the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  is,  from  the  nature  of 
the  act,  a  profession  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  The 
recipient  thereby  places  himself  in  communion  with 
the  object  of  worship  and  with  all  his  fellow 
worshippers.  For  we  being  many  are  one  bread 
and  one  body ;  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  one  bread. 
Hence  the  apostle  adds.  Ye  cannot  drink  of  the 
cup  of  the  Lord  and  of  the  cup  of  devils  ;  ye  cannol 
be  partakers  of  the  Lord’s  table  and  the  table  of 
devils.  It  is  impossible  to  be  in  communion  with 
Christ  and  Satan  at  the  same  time,  and,  therefore, 
it  is  the  grossest  incons’stency  to  partake  at  the 
same  time  of  the  ordinances  of  Christ  and  of  the 
sacrifices  of  devils.  All  this  supposes  that  a  parti¬ 
cipation  of  Christian  ordinances  is  a  profession  of 
the  Christian  religion.  When  Christ  commanded 
the  apostles  to  make  disciples,  baptizing  them,  &t.. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


257 


I  he  obviously  intended  that  baptism  should  be  a 
badge  of  discipleship,  or  that  by  that  rite  his  fol¬ 
lowers  should  acknowledge  their  relation  to  him 
This,  indeed,  is  the  prominent  idea  in  the  formula, 
To  baptize  in  the  name  of  any  one.  And  hence 
Paul  reminded  the  Corinthians  that  they  were  not 
,  his  disciples  or  followers,  by  asking  them.  Were 
ye  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul  ?  It  is,  however, 

I  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  this  point,  as  it  is 
,  universally  conceded  that  the  participation  of  the 
!  ordinances  of  the  gospel  is  the  appointed  mode  of 
confessing  Christ  before  the  world. 

As  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  confess 
Christ,  and  to  confess  him  in  this  particular  way, 
it  is  necessary  to  inquire  more  particularly  into  the 
nature  and  design  of  these  ordinances.  It  has  long 
been  customary  in  the  church  to  call  these  institu¬ 
tions  sacraments.  Little  light,  however,  can  be 
derived  from  the  use  of  this  term,  because  it  is  not 
a  scriptural  word,  and  because  it  is  employed  by 
!  ancient  writers  in  a  very  comprehensive  sense.  As 
it  comes  from  the  word  meaning  to  consecrate,  any 
thinsT  sacred  was  called  a  sacrament.  Tlie  Romans 
ipplied  the  term  to  a  sum  of  money  deposited  in 
the  hands  of  the  High  Priest  to  abide  the  decision 
of  a  suit.  They  also  called  the  oath  by  which 
soldiers  consecrate  themselves  to  the  military  service 
s^-crament;  and  in  the  Latin  church,  (whence  we 

22* 


258 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION 


have  borrowed  the  word),  it  was  used  as  synony¬ 
mous  with  mystery,  not  only  as  applied  to  things 
which  had  a  hidden  meaning,  but  in  its  wider  sense 
as  signifying  what  was  undiscoverable  by  human 
reason.  In  this  sense  the  Gospel  itself,  the  calling 
of  the  Gentiles,  the  future  conversion  of  the  Jews 
are  sacraments.  It  is  not  from  a  word  of  such  latitude 
of  meaning  that  the  nature  of  the  Christian  ordi¬ 
nances  can  be  learned ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
Christian  sense  of  the  word  must  be  determined 
from  what  the  Scriptures  teach  concerning  the  ordi¬ 
nances  to  which  the  word  is  now  applied. 

They  are,  in  the  first  place,  rites  of  divine  ap¬ 
pointment,  and  not  of  human  institution.  When 
Christ  was  about  to  ascend  into  heaven,  he  said. 
Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  ;  and, 
lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  rite  of  baptism  was,  therefore,  insti¬ 
tuted  by  Christ,  and  is  to  be  continued  as  long  as 
there  are  disciples  to  be  made,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world.  And  on  the  night  in  which  he  was 
betrayed,  he  instituted  the  Loid’s  supper,  saying, 
This  do  in  remembrance  of  me,  with  the  command 
that  it  should  be  observed  until  he  comes.  The 
New  Testament  furnishes  abundant  evidence  tha< 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


259 


the  apostles  enjoined,  both  by  precept  and  example, 
the  observance  of  these  ordinances,  agreeably  to  the 
Saviour’s  directions.  No  rite,  therefore,  is  a  sacra- 
ment  in  the  Christian  sense  of  the  term,  which  is 
not  a  matter  of  divine  appointment,  and  of  perpetual 
obligation. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Bible  teaches  us  that  the 
sacraments  are  the  signs  of  spiritual  blessings. 
They  are  designed  by  outward,  significant  actions, 
to  represent  inward,  spiritual  gifts.  The  great  bless¬ 
ing  offered  in  the  Gospel  is  union  with  Christ,  and 
the  consequent  participation  of  his  merits  and  spirit, 
by  which  we  are  freed  from  the  condemnation  and 
pollution  of  sin.  And  this  is  the  blessing  which 
baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper  are  designed  to 
represent.  Hence  it  is  said.  As  many  as  have  been 
baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ;  whiqh 
implies  union  with  him.*  Believers  are  said  to  be 
baptized  into  one  body.t  That  is,  by  baptism 
they  are  constituted  one  body ;  but  they  are  one 
body  only  in  virtue  of  their  union  with  their  com- 
mon  head.  Know  ye  not,  asks  the  apostle,  that  so 
many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ, 
were  baptized  into  his  death?  z.  e.  so  as  to  be  united 
with  him  in  his  death. J  As  union  with  Christ  is 
the  great  blessing  signified  by  baptism,  and  as 


•  Gal.  iii.  27. 


■f  1  Cor.  xii.  13. 


t  Rom.  vi.  2. 


260 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


pardon  and  sanctification  are  the  consequences  oi 
that  union,  this  ordinance  is  also  represented  as 
symbolizing  these  two  great  blessings  of  the  cove¬ 
nant  of  grace.  Thus  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
Peter  said  to  the  people.  Repent,  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Chri&,t,  for 
the  remission  of  sins.^  And  Ananias  said  to  Paul, 
Arise  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins, 
•ailing  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.t  In  many  similar 
passages  the  reference  of  baptism  to  pardon  is  very 
clearly  expressed. 

No  less  clear  is  its  intended  significancy  of 
sanctification.  This  is  plainly  taught  in  the  pass¬ 
ages  from  the  epistles  to  the  Galatians  and  Ro¬ 
mans,  quoted  above,  in  which  baptism  is  declared 
to  represent  our  union  with  Christ,  and  our  death 
to.  sin  and  our  living  unto  God.  And  in  the 
epistle  to  Titus,:}:  it  is  called  “the  washing  of 
regeneration  and  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians, § 
Christ  is  said  to  sanctify  his  church  “  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  word.”  It  need  hardly 
be  remarked  that  the  ordinance  is  appropriately 
significant  of  these  great  truths.  Water  is  the 
common  means  of  purification.  Both  the  guilt  and 
pollution  of  sin,  are  represented  in  Scripture  as  a 


T  Titus  ill.  5. 

/ 


*  Acts  ii.  38. 


j-  Acts  xxii.  16. 
§  Euh.  V.  26. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


261 


defilement,  and  hence  they  are  said  to  be  washed 
aw“v  by  the  blood  and  Spirit  of  Christ.  It  is  this 
two-fold  purification  that  is  so  appropriately  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  ordinance  in  question. 

The  same  truths,  under  a  different  aspect,  are 
exhibited  in  the  Lord’s  supper.  That  the  bread 
represents  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  wine  his 
blood,  is  expressly  declared  by  our  Saviour  when 
he  .  aid,  “  This  is  my  body,  this  is  my  blood.” 
And  by  our  participation  of  the  bread  and  wine, 
our  participation  of  that  of  which  they  are  the 
symbols,  is  clearly  represented.  The  cup  of  bless¬ 
ing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it 
not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?  For  we 
being  many  are  one  bread,  and  one  body,  for  we  are 
all  partakers  of  that  one -bread.*  Here,  as  in  the 
passage  quoted  above  in  reference  to  baptism,  be¬ 
lievers  are  declared  to  be  one  body,  because  by 
partaking  of  the  Lord’s  supper  their  communion 
with  the  Lord  Jesus  is  expressed.  These  ordi¬ 
nances,  therefore,  though  in  different  ways,  set 
forth  the  same  great  truth.  They  are  both  divinely 
appointed  symbols  of  our  union  with  Christ,  and 
of  our  participation  of  the  benefits  which  flow  from 
his  mediation  and  death. 


*  1  Cor.  X.  16,  17. 


262 


PROFESSION  OF  REl  IGION 


Wfc  should  greatly  err,  however,  /e  supposed 
they  were  merely  signs.  We  are  to  gh^  that  they 
are  seals  ;  that  they  were  appointe<j  by  Christ  to 
certify  to  believers  their  interest  in  the  blessings  of 
the  covenant  of  grace.  Among  men  a  seal  is  used 
for  the  purpose  of  authentication  and  confirmation. 
It  is  intended  to  assure  the  party  concerned  that  the 
document  to  which  it  is  attached,  is  genuine  and 
binding.  In  condescension  to  our  weakness,  God 
has  been  pleased  not  only  to  promise  pardon  and 
purity  to  believers,  but  to  appoint  these  ordinances 
as  seals  of  his  promises.  The  simple  assurance 
given  to  Noah  that  the  earth  should  not  a  second 
time  be  destroyed  by  a  deluge,  might  have  been  a 
sufficient  foundation  for  confidence  ;  but  God  saw 
fit  to  appoint  the  rainbow  to  be  a  perpetual  con¬ 
firmation  of  his  covenant;  and  throughout  all 
generations  when  that  bow  appears,  men  feel  that 
it  is  not  merely  a  sign  of  the  returning  sun,  but  a 
divinely  appointed  pledge  of  the  promise  of  God. 
In  like  manner  God  willing  more  abundantly  to 
show  unto  his  people  the  immutability  of  his  pro¬ 
mise,  has  confirmed  it  by  these  seals,  which  are 
designed  to  assure  tlie  believer  that  as  certainly  as 
he  receives  the  signs  of  the  blessings  of  the  cove¬ 
nant,  he  shall  receive  the  blessings  themselves. 

That  these  ordinances  were  really  inten*  ted  to 
confirm  the  promises  of  God,  is  plain  from  ffie  fact 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


263 


lhat  Pa*/  /  ys  that  circumcision  was  the  seal  of  the 
righteoA-  h  of  faith  ;  that  is,  it  was  designed  to 
assure  ALn  'lam  and  his  descendants  that  God  would 
regard  and  treat  as  righteous  all  who  believed  his 
words.  A*id  that  something  similar  is  intimated  by 
the  ordinal  ^  of  baptism,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
manner  iii  »';hich  the  apostle  speaks  of  the  spiritual 
import  oi  circumcision,  and  then  of  baptism,  in  Col. 
ii  10.  13..  And  in  reference  to  the  Lord’s  supper, 
the  Saviom  said.  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in 
my  blood  i  that  is,  the  new  covenant  was  ratified 
by  his  blood.  Of  that  blood  the  cup  is  the  ap- 

*  t 

pointed  :/.emorial,  and  it  is,  therefore,  at  the  same 
time,  the  memorial  and  confirmation  of  the  covenant 
itself ;  it  is  the  assurance  to  us  that  God  has  pro¬ 
mised  the  blessings  of  that  covenant  to  all  believers. 
Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper  are,  therefore, 
visible  pledges  or  confirmations  of  the  fact  that 
Christ  has  died,  that  his  death  has  been  accepted 
as  a  propitiation  for  sin,  and  that  God,  for  his  sake, 
will  grant  pardon,  sanctification  and  eternal  life  to 
all  them  that  believe. 

If  however,  the  sacraments  are  seals  on  the  part 
01  God,  the  reception  of  them  implies  a  voluntary 
engagement  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  to  devote 
himself  to  the  service  of  Christ.  The  gospel  iv‘s 
represented  under  the  form  of  a  covenant.  It  h 
so  called  by  Christ  himself.  But  a  covenant  iin 
mutual  stipulations.  God  promises  to  hi? 


264 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


people  pardon  and  salvation  ;  in  his  strength,  they 
promise  faith  and  obedience.  The  sacraments  are 
the  seals  of  this  covenant.  God,  in  their  appoint¬ 
ment,  binds  himself  to  the  performance  of  his 
promise  ;  his  people,  by  receiving  them,  bind 
themselves  to  trust  and  serve  him.  This  idea  is 
included  in  the  representation  given  in  Romans  vi. 
3,  4,  where  believers  are  said  to  have  been  buried 
with  Christ  in  baptism,  that  as  he  rose  from  the 
dead,  they  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life 
It  is  included  also  in  the  very  formula  of  baptism ; 
for  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost,  implies  a  voluntary  dedication  of 
ourselves  to  God,  as  our  Father,  Redeemer  and 
Sanctifier.  The  same  thing  is  taught  in  all  the 
passages  in  which  a  participation  of  Christian 
ordinances,  is  said  to  include  a  profession  of  the 
gospel ;  for  the  gospel  imposes  duties  as  well  as 
promises  blessings. 

It  is  probably  in  this  view  of  these  ordinances 
that  the  name,  sacraments,  was  so  generally  applied 
to  them.  For  as  the  oath  by  which  the  soldier 
consecrated  himself  to  the  military  service,  was 
called  a  sacrament,  so  the  ordinances  in  which  the 
believer  binds  himself  to  the  service  of  Christ,  was 
appropriately  designated  by  the  same ^  term.  The 
phrase  sacramental  host  is,  therefore,  not  inaptly 
applied  to  the  people  of  God,  considered  as  a  great 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


265 


multitude,  who  have  solemnly  bound  themselves  by 
sacraments  to  live  to  his  glory. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper  being  ordinances 
of  divine  appointment  and  perpetual  obligation, 
designed  to  distinguish  the  followers  of  Christ  from 
the  world  ;  to  exhibit  the  truths  of  the  gospel;  to 
seal  to  believers  the  divine  promises,  and  to  bring 
them  into  covenant  with  God,  the  interesting  ques¬ 
tion  arises.  What  good  do  they  do  ?  What  benefits 
are  we  authorized  to  expect  from  them  ?  The 
answer  commonly  given  to  this  question  by  the 
great  body  of  evangelical  Christians  is,  that  the 
sacraments  are  efficacious  means  of  grace,  not 
merely  exhibiting  to,  but  actually  conferring  upon 
those  who  worthily  receive  them,  the  benefits  which 
they  represent.  As  they  are  divinely  appointed  to 
set  forth  Christ  and  his  benefits,  and  to  assure  the 
believer  of  his  interest  therein,  they  have,  even  as 
moral  means,  a  powerful  influence  to  confirm  his 
faith,  to  excite  his  gratitude  and  love,  and  to  open 
the  fountains  both  of  penitence  and  joy.  But  as 
the  word  of  God  has  not  only  its  own  moral  influ¬ 
ence,  as  truth,  in  the  sanctification  of  the  soul,  but 
also,  when  attended  by  the  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit,  a  divine  and  effectual  power ;  so  the  sacra¬ 
ments  have  not  only  the  influence  due  to  the  lively 
exhibition  of  truth,  but  as  means  of  God’s  appoint¬ 
ment,  and  attended  by  his  Spirit,  'they  become 

23 


2G6 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


efRcacious  signs  of  grace,  communicating  what  they 
signify.  Nothing  less  than  this  can  satisfy  the 
strong  language  of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject, 
or  the  experience  of  God’s  people.  When  the 
Christian,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  sees  in  the  watei 
of  baptism  the  lively  emblem  of  the  purifying 
influence  of  the  blood  and  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  in 
the  bread  and  wine  the  memorials  of  the  Saviour’s 
death,  and  knows  that  they  are  appointed  to  be  a 
pledge  of  the  salvation  of  all  believers,  he  receives 
Christ,  in  receiving  the  appointed  symbols  of  his 
grace  ;  he  receives  anew  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins  ; 
he  enters  into  fellowship  with  God,  and  his  soul  is 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  it  is  that  be- 
lieveis  so  often  find  their  strength  renewed,  their 
faith  confirmed,  their  purposes  invig^orated,  their 
hearts  filled  with  joy  and  love,  while  attending  on 
these  ordinances. 

As  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  is  a  subject  of 
great  practical  importance,  it  is  necessary  to  ex¬ 
amine  more  particularly  what  the  Scriptures  teach 
on  this  subject.  Baptism  is  called  the  washing  of 
regeneration;  it  is  said  to  unite  us  to  Christ,*  to 
make  us  partakers  of  his  death  and  life,-’’  to  wash 
away  our  sins,J  to  save  the  soul.§  The  .read  and 

•  Gal.  iii,  27.  Rom.  vi.  4,  5  t  Acts  xxii.  16 

§  1  Pet.  iii.  21. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


267 


wine,  in  the  Lord’s  supper,  are  said  to  be  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ;  to  partake  of  these  emblems, 
is  said  to  secure  union  with  Christ  and  a  partici¬ 
pation  of  the  merits  of  his  death. These  and 
similar  passages  must  be  understood  either  with  or 
without  limitation.  If  they  are  to  be  limited,  the 
limitation  must  not  be  arbitrarily  imposed,  but 
supplied  by  the  Scriptures  themselves.  We  have 
no  right  to  say  that  the  sacraments  confer  these 
benefits  in  every  case  in  which  no  moral  impedi¬ 
ment  is  interposed,  because  no  such  limitation  is 
expressed  in  the  passages  themselves,  nor  else¬ 
where  taught  in  the  Scriptures.  The  limitation 
which  the  Scriptures  do  impose  on  these  passages 
is  the  necessity  of  faith.  They  teach  that  the  sacra¬ 
ments  are  thus  efficacious,  not  to  every  recipient, 
but  to  the  believer ;  to  those  who  already  have  the 
grace  which  these  ordinances  represent.  If  it  be 
asked  how  they  can  be  said  to  confer  the  grace 
which  is  already  possessed  ?  let  it  be  remembered 
that  he  who  has  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
Christ,  needs  the  application  to  be  often  repeated , 
he  who  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit  needs  to 
receive  him  again ;  he  who  has  received  Christ 
needs  to  receive  him  day  by  day  that  he  may  live 
upon  nim.  That  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the 

*  1  Cor.  X.  16,  17. 


268 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION 


passages  in  question  are  to  be  understood  with  the 
qualification  just  stated,  is  clear  because  otherwise 
they  would  teach  that  every  one  who  is  baptized  is 
a  child  of  God,  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  united 
to  Christ  and  made  a  partaker  of  the  saving  benefits 
of  his  death.  But  this  cannot  be  true,  first,  because 
the  Bible  abundantly  teaches  that  those  who  are 
renewed  and  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  the 
fruits  of  the  spirit,  love,  gentleness,  goodness,  and 
faith.  Where  these  are  not,  there  the  Spirit  is  not. 
But  these  fruits  do  not  uniformly,  nor  even  gene¬ 
rally  attend  the  reception  of  the  outward  ordinance. 
We  know  that  although  Simon  Magus  was  baptized, 
he  remained  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond 
of  iniquity.  We  know,  from  Paul’s  epistles,  that 
many  of  the  baptized  Galatians  and  Corinthians 
were  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  We  know 
from  our  own  daily  observation  that  multitudes  of 
those  who  are  baptized  and  received’  to  the  Lord’s 
supper,  do  not  differ  in  temper  or  life  from  the 
world  around  them.  God,  therefore,  in  the  actual 
administration  of  his  kingdom,  contradicts  that 
interpretation  of  his  word  which  makes  it  teach 
that  the  sacraments  always  confer  the  benefits 
which  they  represent.  It  is  to  degrade  the  renew¬ 
ing  of  the  heart  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
into  things  of  no  account,  to  represent  them  as  the 
portion  of  the  unholy  multitudes  who  in  every  aga 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


26y 


and  church  have  been  admitted  to  baptism  and  the 
Lord’s  supper.  ' 

In  the  second  place  this  interpretation  is  opposed 
to  what  the  Scriptures  elsewhere  teach  of  the  nature 
of  sacraments.  The  opinion  that  such  ordinances 
uniformly  convey  grace  and  introduce  the  recipient 
into  favour  with  God,  was  one  of  those  false  doc¬ 
trines  of  the  Jews  which  Paul  so  earnestly  com¬ 
batted.  Great  is  the  virtue  of  circumcision  for  no 
circumcised  person  enters  hell,  was  the  confident 
and  destructive  persuasion  of  the  formalists  of  that 
age.  In  opposition  to  this  doctrine,  the  apostle 
assured  them  that  circumcision  would,  indeed,  pro¬ 
fit  them,  if  they  kept  the  law  ;  but  if  they  broke  the 
law,  their  circumcision  became  uncircumcision.  For 
he  is  not  a  Jew  who  is  one  outwardly,  neither  is 
that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ; 
but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inwardly  ;  and  circum¬ 
cision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in 
the  letter.^  We  have  here  a  very  explicit  state¬ 
ment  of  the  nature  ar.d  efficacy  of  a  sacrament.  It 
has  no  efficacy  in  itself  considered ;  its  value 
depends  on  the  presence  or  performance  of  the 
condition  of  the  covenant  to  whicn  it  is  attached 
If  the  Jews  kept  the  law,  their  circumcision  secured 
to  them  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  under 


*  Rom.  ii.  25 — 29. 
23* 


270 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


which  they  lived.  But  if  they  broke  the  law,  their 
circumcision  was  of  no  avail.  It  was,  therefore, 
not  external  circumcision  that  made  a  man  a  Jew^; 
but  the  circumcision  of  the  heart,  of  which  the 
external  rite  was  the  sign.  In  like  manner  it  is 
not  external  baptism  that  makes  a  man  a  Christian, 
but  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  of  which  the  washing 
with  water  is  the  appointed  symbol.  The  two  are 
not  necessarily  connected,  and  where  the  latter  is 
wanting,  the  former  can  be  of  no  avail.  And,  lest 
it  should  be  supposed  that  we  have  no  right  to  apply 
what  is  said  of  the  sacraments  of  the  old  dispensa¬ 
tion  to  those  of  the  new,  the  very  same  doctrine  is 
taught  in  reference  to  the  New  Testament  sacra 
ments  themselves.  The  apostle  Peter  says.  We 
are  saved  by  water ;  not  ordinary  water,  but  by 
baptism  ;  not  mere  external  baptism,  however,  but 
by  the  sincere  turning  of  the  heart  to  Cod,  that  is, 
by  the  inward  change  of  which  baptism  is  the  out¬ 
ward  sign.*  This  passage,  in  its  doctrinal  import, 
IS  precisely  parallel  to  that  referring  to  circumcision 
just  quoted.  Neither  rite,  therefore,  necessarily 
conveyed  the  grace  of  which  they  were  the  signs, 
and  to  neither  is  any  value  ascribed  apart  from  the 
spiritual  change  which  they  are  appointed  to  repre¬ 
sent.  In  like  manner,  in  reference  to  the  Lora’s 


*  1  Pet.  iii.  21. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


271 


supper,  the  apostle  teaches  that,  so  far  from  the 
mere  external  act  being  necessarily  connected  with 
the  reception  of  the  benefits  of  Christ’s  death, 
those  who  ate  and  drank  unworthily,  ate  and  drank 
judgment  to  themselves.  Nothing,  indeed,  can  be 
more  opposed  to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  religion  of 
the  Bible,  than  the  doctrine  that  external  rites  are 
necessarily  connected  with  spiritual  blessings  ;  that 
the  favour  of  God  is  to  be  obtained  by  mere  unre¬ 
sisting  submission  to  religious  ceremonies.  A  man 
may  be  baptized,  or  circumcised  on  the  eighth  day, 
he  may  belong  to  the  purest  and  most  apostolic 
church,  he  may  be  blameless  as  touching  all  the 
external  prescriptions  of  the  Gospel,  and  still  be 
destitute  of  the  grace  of  God  and  unprepared  for 
his  presence.  It  is  not  by  works  of  righteousness, 
much  less  by  ceremonial  observances,  that  we  are 
to  be  saved,  but  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ  and 
the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  not  a 
Christian  who  is  one  outwardly,  nor  is  that  baptism 
which  is  outward  in  the  flesh  ;  but  he  is  a  Christian 
who  is  one  inwardly,  and  the  baptism  which  is  unto 
salvation,  is  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the 
letter. 

In  the  third  place,  that  the  sacraments  are  not 
designed  to  convey  grace  to  those  who  have  it  not. 
is  plain  because  the  Scriptures  require  those  who 
are  admitted  to  these  ordinances  to  make  a  profes 


272 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


sioli  of  their  faith  and  repentance.  When  the 
apostles  began  to  preach,  we  are  told  that,  Tliose 
that  gladly  received  the  word  were  '  apiized.^ 
When  the  eunuch  desired  to  be  baptized,  Philip 
said  to  him,  if  thou  believest  with  all  thy  heart, 
thou  mayest.t  Cornelius  did  not  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  first  instance  by  baptism,  but  when 
Peter  had  evidence  that  he  had  already  received  the 
Spirit,  he  asked.  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that 
these  should  not  be  baptized,  which  have  received 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?  i  Paul  was  a 
penitent  believer  before  his  baptism  ;  and  thus  in 
all  other  cases  when  men  were  baptized,  they  pro¬ 
fessed  to  be  Christians.  They  were  not  made 
Christians  by  their  admission  to  the  sacraments ; 
but  their  Christian  character  or  standing  was  thereby 
acknowledged.  It  has  accordingly  been  the  custom 
in  all  ages  to  require  a  profession  of  faith  on  the 
part  of  those  who  are  received  to  sealing  ordinances. 
But  faith  is  an  exercise  of  a  renewed  heart;  and 
if  faith  supposes  regeneration,  and  baptism  supposes 
faith,  then  by  the  voice  of  the  church  as  well  as  of 
Scripture,  baptism  also  supposes  the  renovation  of 
the  heart. 

Finally,  God  bears  his  testimony  against  the 
doctrine  which  teaches  an  inseparable  connexion 


•  Acts  ii.  41. 


■j"  Acts  viii.  37. 


^  Acts  X.  47. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


273 


between  these  ordinances  and  spiritual  blessings, 
by  granting  these  blessings  to  those  who  have  not 
received  any  sacramental  rite.  Abraham  was  jus¬ 
tified  before  he  was  ciicumcised;  Cornelius  was 
a  just  man,  and  accepted  of  God,  and  a  recipient  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  before  he  was  baptized ;  the 
penitent  thief  was  assured  of  his  admission  into 
paradise  though  he  was  never  born  of  water.  If 
then  the  Scriptures  require  the  evidence  of  regene¬ 
ration  in  those  who  would  acceptably  attend  upon 
the  sacraments ;  if  they  teach  that  many  who 
receive  the  outward  sign  do  not  receive  the  inward 
grace ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  many  receive 
the  inward  grace,  who  have  not  received  the  out¬ 
ward  sign,  then  do  they  also  teach  that  these 
ordinances  are  not  appointed  to  convey,  in  the  first 
instance,  pardon  and  sanctification,  but  to  be  signs 
and  seals  of  these  blessings  to  the  penitent  believer, 

I  and  that  to  him,  and  to  him  only  are  they  efficacious 
means  of  grace. 

i  It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  those  passages  in 

I  Scripture  which  refer  our  salvation  to  baptism  and 
the  Lord’s  supper  cannot,  consistently  with  the 
plain  teaching  of  the  Bible,  be  understood  strictly 
according  to  the  letter.  At  the  same  time  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  they  are  to  be  perverted,  or 
taken  in  any  other  than  their  natural  sense  ;  that  k, 
in  any  other  sense  than  that  which  tl  e  universally 


2^4 


P  OFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


received  rules  of  interpretation  justify  and  require. 
It  is  agreeable  to  the  common  language  of  men  and 
to  the  usage  of  the  Scriptures,  that  when  any  de¬ 
claration  or  service  is  the  appointed  means  of 
professing  faith  and  obedience,  making  such  decla¬ 
ration  or  performing  such  service  is  said  to  secure 
the  blessings  which  are  promised  to  the  faiUi  thereby 
professed.  It  is  said,  whosoever  confesseth  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  born  of  God  f 
and  again,  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation.  This  is  said  because  confession  implies 
faith ;  and  no  one  supposes  that  an  insincere, 
careless,  heartless  confession  will  secure  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  any  man.  Thus  also  we  are  said  to  be 
saved  by  calling  on  the  Lord,  because  invocation 
implies  trust.  In  like  manner  we  are  said  to  be 
saved  by  baptism,  because  baptism  implies  faith. 
If  this  faith  be  wanting,  baptism  can  do  us  no  more 
good  than  a  heartless  confession.  There  is  no  more 
difficulty  in  understanding  why  the  Scriptures  should 
connect  salvation  with  the  use  of  the  sacraments, 
than  in  understanding  why  they  should  connect  the 
same  blessing  with  invocation  or  confession.  There 
is  no  difficulty  in  either  case,  if  we  allow  the  Scrip* 
tures  to  explain  themselves,  and  interpret  them  as 
we  explain  all  other  writings. 

Again,  it  is  according  to  scriptural  usage  ta 
ascribe  to  a  sign  the  name  and  attributes  of  the 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


275 


thing  signified.  Thus  circumcision  is  called  the 
covenant  of  God,  because  it  was  the  sign  of  that 
covenant.  Christ  called  the  cup  the  new  covenant ; 
the  wine  he  called  his  blood  and  the  bread  his  body. 
Those  who  partake  of  the  wine  are,  therefore,  said 
to  receive  his  blood,  and  of  course  the  benefits 
which  it  purchased. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  sacraments 
are  seals,  and  that  it  is  common  to  attribute  to  any 
ceremony,  by  which  an  engagement  is  ratified,  the 
efficacy  which  belongs  not  to  the  ceremony,  but  to 
the  engagement  itself.  The  ceremonial  of  inaugu¬ 
ration  is  said  to  induct  a  man  into  the  office,  the 
right  to  which  it  merely  publicly  declares  and  con¬ 
firms.  Even  in  the  strict  language  of  the  law,  a 
deed,  with  its  signature  and  seal,  is  said  to  convey 
a  right  of  property,  although  it  is  simply  the  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  purpose  of  the  original  possessor.  It 
is  that  purpose  which  conveys  the  right,  and  if  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  man  who  holds  the  deed  was 
not  the  man  intended  by  the  grantor,  the  deed  would 
be  regarded  as  worthless.  If  a  man  deeds  an  estate 
to  A.,  on  the  assumption  that  he  is  the  son  of  B, 
should  it  be  proved  that  A  was  not  the  son  of  B, 
the  deed  would  convey  to  him  no  valid  title.  Bui 
the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  are  declared  to  be  in¬ 
tended  for  penitent  believers  ;  the  sacraments  are 
he  externa!  means  of  recognising  the  conveyance 


276 


PROFESSION  Cr  RELIGION. 


of  these  blessings ;  to  those  who  are  really  whai 
they  profess  to  be,  they  do  in  fact  convey  and 
secure  these  blessings ;  to  others  they  confer  ncv 
such  benehts.  When  an  unbeliever  receives  these 
ordinances,  he  no  more  obtains  a  title  to  the  bless¬ 
ings  which  they  represent,  than  a  man  obtains  a 
title  to  an  estate  by  falsely  assuming  the  name  of 
the  person  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

There  is  nothing,  therefore,  in  the  language  of 
the  Scriptures  on  this  subject  which  is  not  perfectly 
consistent  with  the  common  protestant  doctrine  that 
the  sacraments  have  no  inherent  efficacy  of  their 
own,  but  become  efficacious  means  of  grace  to  those 
who  believe;  the  Holy  Spirit  thereby  communi¬ 
cating  to  believers  the  blessings  of  which  those 
ordinances  are  the  significant  representations. 


Section  III.  Obligation  to  attend  upon  the  Sacraments 
Qualifications  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the  duty. 

The  obligation  which  rests  upon  all  Christians 
to  attend  upon  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord’s  supper,  arises  clearly  from  Avhat  has  been 
shown  to  be  their  nature  and  design.  We  have 
seen  tha<  they  are  institutions  appointed  by  Christ 
himself.  He  has  commanded  all  his  followers  to 
be  baptized  and  to  commemorate  his  death,  in  a 
prescribed  manner.  As  obedience  to  Christ  b 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


277 


necessary,  so  is  a  participation  of  these  ordinances. 
A-S,  however,  it  is  a  necessity  arising-  out  of  a  posi 
tive  command,  it  is  a  qualified  necessity,  since  such 
commands  are  not  binding  under  all  circumstances. 
It  is  impossible  that  a  sinner  should  be  saved  with¬ 
out  faith  and  repentance ;  but  it  is  not  impossible 
that  he  should  be  saved  without  the  sacraments. 
As  we  are  bound  to  keep  the  sabbath  as  part  of  our 
obedience  to  God,  and  yet  may  innocently  labour 
on  that  day  when  necessity  or  mercy  requires  it; 
so  although  bound  to  present  ourselves  at  the  table 
of  the  Lord  as  an  act  of  obedience,  we  may  be 
innocently  absent,  whenever  that  absence  is  not  the 
effect  of  a  wilful  or  disobedient  spirit.  As,  how¬ 
ever,  the  command  of  Christ  on  this  subject  is 
express,  the  obligation  which  it  imposes  is  of  the 
strongest  character. 

In  the  second  place,  it  has  been  shown  that  to 
confess  Christ  before  men  is  an  indispensable  duty, 
and  that  the  sacraments  are  the  appointed  means  for 
making  this  confession  ;  it  follows,  therefore,  that 
attendance  on  the  sacraments  is  also  an  indispensa¬ 
ble  duty.  When  in  human  governments  the  laws 
prescribe  a  particular  mode  in  which  we  are  to 
acknowledge  allegiance  to  our  country,  it  is  not 
competent  for  us  to  neglect  that  mode ;  nor  have 
we  a  right  to  adopt  a  different  method  of  acknow¬ 
ledgment,  or  to  suffer  our  allegiance  to  be  inferred 

24 


278 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


from  our  conduct.  If  we  wish  to  be  recognised  ar 
citizens,  we  must  in  the  prescribed  form  acknow¬ 
ledge  ourselves  such.  And  if  Christ  has  prescribed 
a  particular  way  in  which  he  will  be  acknowledged 
by  his  followers,  intelligently  and  wilfully  to  refuse 
obedience  to  his  command,  is  to  renounce  our  alle¬ 
giance  to  him  and  to  forfeit  the  benefits  of  his 
kingdom. 

Again,  as  the  sacraments  are  the  seals  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  to  reject  these  seals  is  to  reject 
the  covenant  itself.  It  is  not  meant  that  they  are 
in  such  a  sense  indispensable  that  if  a  man  perform 
the  conditions  of  the  covenant,  he  will  be  excluded 
from  its  benefits,  for  the  want  of  the  seals.  Among 
men,  indeed,  we  often  see  that  the  want  of  the 
prescribed  number  of  witnesses  to  a  signature,  the 
want  of  a  seal,  or  even  a  clerical  error  in  a  docu^ 
ment,  is  sufficient  to  set  aside  a  solemn  engagement. 
Nothing  of  this  kind  can  occur  under  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  God,  where  justice  is  never  embarrassed  by 
technical  formalities.  The  apostle  expressly  teaches 
that  as  circumcision  becomes  uncircumcision,  if  the 
law  be  broken,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  keep 
the  law,  his  uncircumcision  shall  be  counted  for 
circumcision.  It  is  admitted,  therefore,  that  if  a 
man  has  the  faith,  repentance  and  obedience  required 
by  the  gospel,  his  salvation  is  secure.  But  no  man 
has  a  rio-ht  to  assume  that  he  has  this  faith  ana 


PROFESSIO>  OF  RELIGION 


279 


lepentance,  who  neglects  to  obey  the  commands  of 
Christ.  The  essential  conditions  of  salvation  have 
been,  the  same  under  every  dispensation.  If  anj 
man,  under  the  old  economy,  had  the  faith  of  Abra¬ 
ham,  he  was  entitled  to  the  blessings  promised  to 
4.braham.  Nevertheless,  as  circumcision  was  the 
appointed  means  of  expressing  that  faith,  and  of 
accepting  the  covenant  of  which  it  was  the  condi¬ 
tion,  it  was  expressly  declared,  that  the  iincircum- 
cised  man-child,  whose  flesh  of  his  foreskin  is  not 
circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his 
people  ;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant.*  Is  it  not 
equally  true  that  those  who  intelligibly  and  wilfully 
neglect  baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper,  break  the 
covenant  under  which  the  church  is  now  placed  ? 
It  will  not  do  for  us  to  say,  if  we  have  the  sub¬ 
stance,  the  form  is  of  little  account.  We  all  know 
that  if  an  ancient  Israelite  had  repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  in  the  prorhised  Messiah,  his  sins 
were  forgiven ;  and  yet  unless  he  expressed  his 
faith  by  bringing  the  appointed  sacrifice  to  the  altar, 
he  was  not  forgiven.  God  saw  fit  that  the  mode 
of  pardon  should  be  thus  exhibited  and  recognised. 
In  like  manner  he  now  requires  that  the  method  of 
salvation  should  be  publicly  acknowledged  and  set 
forth  in  the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord’s 


*  Gen.  xvii.  H. 


280 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


supper.  TV  3  do,  therefore,  as  really  reject  the 
covenant  of  God  by  neglecting  these  ordinances,  as 
did  the  Israelites  who  rejected  circumcision  or  the 
offering  of  sacrifices. 

Another  illustration  of  this  subject  may  be  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  marriage  contract.  The  essence 
of  the  covenant  is  the  mutual  consent  of  parties. 
But  in  all  civilized  countries  some  public  mani 
festation  of  that  consent  is  essential  to  the  validity 
of  the  engagement.  Thus,  also,  the  essence  of  our 
covenant  with  God  is  repentance  and  faith ;  but 
baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper  being  the  divinely 
appointed  means  of  signifying  and  ratifying  the 
engagement,  they  can  no  more  be  neglected  than 
the  public  recognition  of  the  marriage  covenant. 

It  was  a  fatal  perversion  when  the  Jews  imagined 
that  circumcision  and  sacrifices  without  faith  and 
obedience,  were  effectual  to  salvation,  and  it  is  no 
less  a  fatal  delusion  to  imagine  that  baptism  and  the 
Lord’s  supper  wdthout  those  inward  graces  can 
secure  the  favour  of  God.  But  in  avoiding  one 
extreme,  we  must  not  run  int^:)  the  opposite. 
Though  the  ancient  sacrifices  without  faith  were  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord  ;  the  sacrifices  were  still,  by 
divine  appointment,  necessary  ;  and  although  the 
Christian  ordinances,  without  the  grace  which  they 
represent,  are  empty  forms,  they  too  by  divine  ap¬ 
pointment  are  obligatory  and,  in  their  place,  essential 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  . 


281 


No  Christian,  however,  needs  to  be  forced  by 
stress  of  authority  to  yield  obedience  to  the  com¬ 
mands  of  Christ.  It  is  enough  for  him  that  it  is 
the  will  of  his  Saviour  that  the  truths  and  .blessings 
of  the  Gospel  should  be  exhibited  and  commemo¬ 
rated  by  the  perpetual  observance  of  the  ordinances 
of  baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper.  Though  he 
were  unable  to  see  any  fitness  in  such  observance, 
3r  though  experience  taught  him  nothing  of  its 
value,  yet  would  he  cheerfully  obey.  Much  more 
may  he  be  expected  to  yield  a  ready  obedience, 
when  he  knows  both  from  Scripture  and  experience, 
that  these  ordinances  are  made  to  the  believer  the 
channels  of  divine  blessings  ;  that  they  are  means 
of  grace  and  sources  of  the  purest  spiritual  en¬ 
joyments  ;  that  they  bring  him  into  communion 
with  Christ  and  unite  him  in  holy  fellowship  with 
all  his  brethren.  He  knows  that  to  neglect  these 
divine  institutions  is  not  only  to  violate  a  command 
of  God  and  to  break  his  covenant ;  it  is  to  refuse  to 
be  fed  at  his  table  and  to  reject  the  provision  which 
he  has  made  for  the  life  of  our  souls. 

If  the  sacraments  are  such  important  means  of 
grace,  and  if  attendance  upon  them  is  a  duty  so 
plainly  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God,  it  is  important 
to  enquire  what  are  the  proper  qualifications  foi 
the  acceptable  discharge  of  this  duty. 

In  considering  this  subject  we  must  not  confound 

24* 


282 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


the  qualifications  which  the  church  has  a  right  to 
demand  of  those  who  present  themselves  as  candi¬ 
dates  for  Christian  communion,  with  those  which 
such  candidates  are  bound  to  seek  in  themselves. 
The  church  cannot  judge  the  heart;  she  can  only 
require  a  credible  profession.  It  is  her  duty  to 
explain  the  nature  of  the  gospel,  with  its  promises 
ind  commands,  and  to  state  clearly  what  is  the  nature 
of  the  service  in  which  those  engage,  who  profess 
to  embrace  the  offers  of  salvation.  Those  who, 
when  thus  instructed,  declare  that  they  accept  the 
offers  of  divine  mercy,  and  purpose  to  live  in  obe¬ 
dience  to  the  divine  commands,  she  receives  into 
communion,  unless  there  be  some  tangible  evidence 
of  the  insincerity  of  their  professions.  This  she 
does,  not  because  she  judges  them  to  be  true  Chris¬ 
tians,  but  because  they  possess  the  qualifications 
which  alone  she  has  a  right  to  demand.  No  priest 
under  the  old  dispensation  ever  ventured  to  debar  a 
man  from  the  altar,  because  in  his  own  mind,  he 
might  judge  him  to  be  destitute  of  the  faith  and 
penitence  implied  in  the  act  of  presenting  a  sacrifice. 
It  the  offerer  had  the  external  qualifications  pre¬ 
scribed  by  the  law,  he  was  admitted.  To  Him  who 
searches  the  heart,  it  was  left  to  decide  upon  his 
spiritual  state.  Thus  also,  under  the  gospel  dis¬ 
pensation,  we  find  the  apostles  baptizing  and  admit¬ 
ting  to  the  Lord’s  supper  all  who  made  the  requisite 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


283 


profession  and  against  whom  no  visible  evidence  of 
insincerity  could  be  produced.  Whatever  was 
considered  a  sufficient  reason  for  excommunicating 
a  church  member,  was  of  course  regarded  as  suffi* 
cient  to  exclude  an  applicant  for  admission.  It  is 
of  importance  to  remember  that  the  church  does  not 
profess  to  believe  all  those  to  be  true  Christians, 
whom  she  admits  to  her  communion.  Of  their 
inward  sincerity  she  cannot  judge  ;  to  their  own 
master  they  must  stand  or  fall.  Many  are  no  doubt 
confirmed  in  a  false  judgment  of  themselves,  be¬ 
cause  they  consider  their  admission  to  the  church  to 
be  an  expression  of  the  judgment  of  their  pastor, 
or  brethren,  that  they  are  what  they  profess  to  be. 
It  is  natural  for  them  to  think  well  of  themselves, 
when  they  consider  experienced  Christians  as  pro¬ 
nouncing  a  favourable  judgment  of  their  spiritual 
state.  But  they  should  remember  that  it  is  not  the 
prerogative  of  the  church  to  judge  the  heart;  she 
must  receive  all  who  have  the  external  qualifica¬ 
tions  which  the  Scriptures  require. 

But  though  the  church  is  obliged  to  confine  her 
demands  to  a  credible  profession  of  faith  and  re¬ 
pentance,  it  is  thi  duty  of  those  who  seek  admis¬ 
sion  to  her  communion,  to  see  that  they  have  all  the 
qualifications  which  the  nature  of  the  service  de¬ 
mands.  These  qualifications  may  all  be  reduced  to 
knowledge  and  piety. 


284 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


Did  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  sacraments  had 
an  inherent  efficacy  of  their  own  y  that  the  water 
of  baptism  had  power  to  wash  away  sin,  and  the 
bread  and  wine  a  virtue  to  sustain  spiritual  life, 
then  indeed  they  might  be  administered  to  the 
ignorant,  the  insensible,  or  the  dying.  But  if  we 
are  taught  that  the  efficacy  both  of  the  word  and 
ordinances  depends  not  on  them,  nor  on  those  who 
administer  them,  but  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  revealing 
and  applying  the  truth  thereby  exhibited,  then  it  is 
plain  that  they  must  be  understood  in  order  to  be 
beneficial.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  doctrines 
of  the  Bible  that  God  sanctifies  his  people  through  ' 
the  truth.  But  truth  is  not  truth  to  him  who  does 
not  understand  it.  If  you  repeat  to  an  ignorant 
man  a  mathematical  formula,  although  it  may  con¬ 
tain  a  proposition  of  the  highest  value,  to  him  it  is 
nothing.  It  communicates  no  idea  to  his  mind, 
and  can  produce  no  effect  upon  it.  Or  if  you  tell 
him  that  God  has  set  forth  his  Son  to  be  a  propi¬ 
tiation  for  our  sins  through  faith  in  his  blood  ;  if  he 
does  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  words,  it 
is  as  though  he  never  heard  them.  We,  therefore, 
do  not  preach  in  an  unknown  tongue ;  nor  do  we  i 
send  Hebrew  Bibles  to  the  Hindoos,  or  the  Greek 
Scriptures  to  the  Hottentots.  Unless  .the  truth  is 
understood,  it  is  not  present  to  the  mind,  and  can¬ 
not  operate  upon  it.  In  like  manner,  unless  the  I 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


285 


fiacraments  are  understood  by  those  who  receive 
them,  they  are,  for  them,  an  unmeaning  ceremony. 
They  either  exhibit  nothing,  or  they  excite  erro¬ 
neous  views  and  apprehensions.  We  degrade  the 
Scriptures  into  formulas  of  incantation,  and  the 
sacraments  into  magical  rites,  if  we  suppose  a 
knowledge  of  their  meaning  to  be  unnecessary. 
God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  who  worship  him  must 
worship  him  in  spirit — intelligently  as  well  as 
sincerely  and  inwardly.  It  is,  therefore,  essential 
to  a  proper  attendance  on  the  sacraments  that  we 
should  know  what  they  are  designed  to  represent, 
what  benefits  they  confer  and  what  obligations  they 
impose.  When  they  are  thus  understood ;  when 
the  believer  sees  in  them  the  clear  exhibition  of  the 
truths  and  promises  of  the  gospel,  and  knows  that 
they  were  appointed  to  be  the  means  of  his  confess- 
ng  Christ  before  men,  and  to  ratify  the  gracious 
covenant  of  God  with  his  soul,  he  then  really 
receives  the  spiritual  blessings  of  which  the  sacra¬ 
ments  are  the  outward  signs. 

The  knowledge  requisite  to  a  proper  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  sacraments  includes  a  knowledge  of  all 
the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  When  a  man 
is  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son 
anc  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  unless  these  sacred  names 
represent  to  his  mind  some  definite  idea  ;  unless  he 
knows  them  to  be  the  names  of  the  persons  jf  the 


286 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


Oodhead.  he  cannot  know  what  he  does  in  submit- 
ting  to  be  baptized.  He  does  not  acknowledge 
Jehovah  ;  nor  does  he  receive  him  as  his  cove¬ 
nant  God,  Redeemer  and  Sanctifier.  As  baptism 
is  designed  to  signify  and  seal  our  union  with 
Christ,  and  our  deliverance  throuMi  him  from  the 

♦  O 

guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  unless  we  know  ourselves 
to  be  sinners,  and  know  that  it  is  necessary  for  us 
to  be  united  to  Christ,  and  by  his  blood  and  Spirit, 
to  be  pardoned  and  renewed,  the  ordinance  for  us  | 
loses  all  its  significancy.  Thus  a  knowledge  of  the  i 
truth  concerning  God,  concerning  sin,  atonement  ; 
and  regeneration  is  essential  to  a  proper  participa-  ' 
tion  of  this  ordinance.  And  as  the  Lord’s  supper 
is  intended  to  be  a  memorial  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
unless  we  know  who  he  4  as,  why  he  died  and 
what  benefits  his  death  secures,  we  are  incapable 
of  profitably  joining  in  this  service.  All  the  affec¬ 
tions  must  have  an  appropriate  object.  If  we  love, 
we  love  something  ;  if  we  fear,  we  fear  something  ; 
if  we  desire,  we  desire  something.  There  can  be 
neither  faith,  nor  love,  nor  penitence,  nor  hope, 
nor  gratitude,  but  as  objects  suited  to  these  exer¬ 
cises  are  present  to  the  mind;  and  the  nature  of 
these  exercises  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
objects  which  call  them  forth.  If  they  are  excited 
by  the  truth,  they  are  right  and  good;  and  jusl 
in  proportion  to  the  clearness  with  which  the  truth  I 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


287 


is  spiritually  discerned,  will  be  the  purity  and 
strength  of  the  religious  emotions.  Knowledge, 
therefore,  is  essential  to  religion. 

We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  knowledge 
and  learning  are  synonymous  terms,  or  that  all 
knowledge  is  derived  from  without,  through  the 
medium  of  the  understanding.  Very  far  from  it. 
A  large  part  of  our  knowledge  is  derived  from  our 
own  consciousness  or  inward  experience.  The 
\  same  external  revelation  may  be  presented  to  two 

I  equally  intelligent  men  ;  if  the  one  is  made,  by  the 

•  Spirit  of  God,  to  feel  in  accordance  with  the  truth, 
j  and  the  other  is  destitute  of  such  feelings,  the 
former  will  possess  a  knowledge  of  which  the  latter 
I  has  no  conception.  He  will  have  an  insight  into  the 
nature  of  the  things  revealed,  and  into  their  truth  and 
^  value,  which  is  due  entirely  to  what  passes  within 
!  his  own  bosom.  These  men,  although  they  may 
be  equal  in  learning,  will  differ  greatly  in  know¬ 
ledge.  We  accordingly  find  that  the  ignorant, 

'  among  God’s  people,  have  often  far  more  know- 
1  ledge  of  religious  truth,  than  many  learned  men. 
They  have  more  correct  views  of  its  nature  ;  and  the 
words  by  which  it  is  expressed  excite  in  theii 
minds  far  more  definite  conceptions  of  the  real 
objects  of  tfe  religious  affections.  As,  however, 

'  God  does  not  reveal  new  truths,  but  sanctifies  bis 
^)eople  by  his  word,  there  must  be  external  iastru^- 


288 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


lion  in  order  to  this  inward  spiritual  knowledge  * 
hence  ignorance  of  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  existence  of 
right  religious  feeling,  or  in  other  words,  with 
religion  itself,  so  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  proper 
participation  of  those  ordinances  by  which  those 
truths  are  set  forth  and  confirmed. 

The  other  qualifications  for  an  acceptable  partici¬ 
pation  of  the  sacraments  are  naturally  suggested  by 
the  view  given  of  their  nature.  As  they  are  the 
appointed  means  for  making  a  public  profession  of 
religion,  it  is  of  course  requisite  that  we  should  be 
and  believe  what  we  therein  profess.  The  sub¬ 
stance  of  this  profession  is  that  we  are  Christians  ; 
that  we  believe  in  Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of  sin¬ 
ners  ;  that  we  accept  of  the  terms  of  salvation  pro¬ 
posed  in  the  Gospel  and  purpose  to  live  in  obedience 
to  its  commands.  If  we  have  not  this  faith  ;  if  we 
do  not  thus  purpose  to  renounce  our  sins  and  live 
unto  God,  then  do  we  make  a  false  profession,  and 
our  service  must  be  unacceptable  to  God. 

Viewing  the  sacraments  as  seals  of  the  covenant 
of  grace,  it  is  plain  that  they  require  the  qualifica¬ 
tions  just  mentioned  in  those  who  receive  them. 
That  covenant  relates  to  deliverance  from  sin.  God 
therein  engages  to  grant  us  salvation ;  and  we  en¬ 
gage  to  accept  of  his  mercy  on  the  terms  on  which 
It  IS  offered.  If  he  promises  to  be  our  God ;  we 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION, 


289 


promise  to  be  his  people.  But  how  can  those  who 
love  sin  and  are  determined  not  to  forsake  it,  enter 
into  this  solemn  engagement  with  God  ?  How  can 
those  who  have  no  sense  of  their  need  of  pardon, 
no  desire  for  holiness,  no  sorrow  for  past  transgres¬ 
sions,  thus  covenant  with  God  for  forgiveness, 
sanctification  and  eternal  life  ? 

With  regard  to  the  Lord’s  supper  we  are  taught 
that  it  was  specially  designed  to  be  a  m.emorial  of 
Christ’s  death.  If  we  join  in  celebriiting  his  death, 
we  profess  to  believe  not  only  that  he  died,  but 
that  he  was  all  that  he  claimed  to  be  ;  that  his  death 
secures  the  benefits  which  the  Scriptures  attribute 
to  it ;  and  that  we  are  bound  to  aid  in  keeping  this 
great  event  in  perpetual  remembrance.  The  proper 
discharge  of  this  duty  requires  that  we  should  have 
a  due  sense  of  our  obligations  to  Christ  for  having 
loved  us  and  given  himself  for  us.  It  requires  that 
we  should  reverence  and  love  him  in  some  measure 
in  proportion  to  his  excellence  and  the  value  of  the 
blessings  which  we  receive  from  him.  It  requires 
that  we  should  be  prepared  to  own  him,  who  by 
wicked  hands  was  crucified  and  slain,  as  our  lord 
and  Saviour,  and  as  such  to  obey  and  trust  him. 

In  whatever  light,  therefore,  the  sacraments  are 
viewed,  whether  as  the  means  of  publicly  confess 
ing  Christ,  or  as  signs  and  seals  of  spiritual  bles 
sings,  or  as  commemorative  of  the  work  of  redemp 

25 


290 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


tion,  no  man  can  profitably,  or  acceptably  attend 
upon  them,  without  adequate  knowledg^e  of  their 
nature,  without  faith  in  the  truths  which  they  re¬ 
present  and  confirm,  or  without  the  penitence,  grati 
tude  and  love  which  those  truths,  when  reallj 
believed,  necessarily  produce.  Where  this  know 
ledge,  faith  and  love  are  found,  there  are  the  requi 
site  qualifications  for  acceptable  attendance  on  th« 
sacraments ;  where  they  are  wanting,  such  atten 
dance  muBt  include  false  professions  and  insincere 
promises. 

We  must  not,  however,  suppose  that  the  want  of 
these  qualifications  frees  us  from  the  obligation  tr 
obey  the  command  of  Christ  to  be  baptized  and  t* 
commemorate  his  death.  We  are  certainly  boun 
to  worship  God  though  destitute  of  the  reverence 
faith  and  love  which  such  worship  requires;  am 
the  plea  of  unfitness  for  the  service  cannot  justif) 
us  in  absenting  ourselves  from  the  ordinances  which 
Christ  has  appointed.  If  we  fear  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  a  public  profession  of  religion,  we 
should  remember  that  we  make  such  profession 
every  time  we  join  in  the  public  worship  of  the 
sanctuary.  If  we  say  we  should  offend  God  by 
approaching  his  table,  without  due  preparation,  let 
us  remember  that  we  offend  him  every  time  we 
pray,  or  hear  the  gospel  without  faith,  penitence 
and  obedience.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  introduce 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


291 


consistency  into  a  half  religious  life.  If  men  will 
renounce  all  claim  to  be  of  the  number  of  God’s 
people,  and  reject  his  service  entirely,  they  may  so 
far  be  consistent.  But  they  cannot  choose  one  part 
of  his  service  and  reject  another;  they  cannot  pro¬ 
fess  to  be  penitent  and  believing  by  joining  in  the 
worship  of  God,  and  declare  themselves  impenitent 
and  unbelieving  by  absenting  themselves  from  the 
sacraments.  They  do  not  place  themselves  on 
neutral  ground  by  such  inconsistency.  Their  only 
safe  and  proper  course  is  to  repent  and  believe. 
Then  will  they  be  acceptable  worshippers  and  ac¬ 
ceptable  communicants.  If  they  frequent  the  temple 
of  God  with  a  sincere  desire  to  do  his  will,  and 
seek  his  favour,  let  them,  in  the  same  state  of  mind, 
obey  all  his  commands.  If  they  come  to  the  Lord’s 
table  to  please  Christ,  to  obey  his  will,  to  express 
their  gratitude  for  his  death,  let  them  come.  As 
their  day  is,  so  shall  their  strength  be. 

From  the  review  of  this  whole  subject,  it  is  clear 
that  the  public  confession  of  Christ  is  an  indispen¬ 
sable  condition  of  discipleship  ;  that  this  confession 
must  be  made  by  attending  on  the  ordinances  which 
he  has  appointed  ;  that  these  ordinances  are  not 
only  the  signs  and  seals  of  spiritual  blessings,  but 
are  made,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  the  believer,  effec¬ 
tual  means  of  grace  ;  that  attendance  upon  them  is, 
therefore,  an  indispensable  duty,  requiring  no  other 


292 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 


qualifications  than  such  as  are  necessary  for  the 
acceptable  worship  of  God ;  and,  consequently 
that  it  is  incumbent  on  all  those  who  sincerely 
desire  to  serve  and  honour  Christ,  and  to  partake 
of  his  salvation,  to  receive  the  sacraments,  in  ob©- 
dience  to  his  will. 


i 


I 

I  CHAPTER  IX 

HOLY  LIVING. 

Section  I.  The  nature  of  true  religion. 

It  is  natural  that  those  who  have  experienced  the 
agitations  which  frequently  attend  upon  conversion, 
and  have  felt  the  peace  which  flows  from  a  hope  of 
acceptance  with  God,  to  imagine  that  the  conflict  is 
over ;  the  victory  won,  and  the  work  of  religion 
accomplished.  This  imagination  is  soon  dissipated. 
Birth  is  not  the  whole  of  life  ;  neither  is  conversion 
the  whole  of  religion.  A  young  mother  may,  in 
'  the  fulness  of  her  joy,  forget  for  a  moment  that  her 

1  vocation  as  a  mother  is  but  just  begun  ;  but  when 

,  she  looks  upon  her  infant,  so  wonderful  in  its  organi¬ 

zation  and  instinct  with  an  immortal  spirit,  the  sight 
of  its  helplessness  makes  her  feel  how  great  a  work 
she  has  still  to  do.  An  hour’s  neglect  might 
.  prove  the  ruin  of  her  hopes.  Thus  the  young 

I  Christian,  although  at  first  disposed  to  think  that 

I  his  work  is  finished,  soon  finds  that  the  feeble  prin 


'>0»J 


294 


HOLY  LIVING. 


ciple  of  spiritual  life  needs  to  be  watched  and 
nourished  with  ceaseless  care.  If  abandoned  at  its 
birth,  it  must  perish  as  certainly  and  as  speedily  as 
an  exposed  infant. 

Another  mistake  on  this  subject  is  made  by  those 
who  suppose  that  religion  is  a  fitful  sort  of  life  ;  an 
alternation  of  excitement  and  insensibility.  Those 
who  labour  under  this  delusion,  are  religious  only 
on  certain  occasions.  They  live  contentedly  for 
months  in  unconcern,  and  then,  if  they  can  be 
moved  to  tenderness  or  joy,  they  are  satisfied  with 
the  prospect  of  another  period  of  collapse.  No 
form  of  life  is  thus  intermittent.  Neither  plants  nor 
animals  thus  live.  Men  do  not,  when  in  health,  pass 
from  convulsions  to  fainting,  and  from  fainting  to 
convulsions ;  nor  does  religion,  when  genuine, 
ever  assume  this  form.  It  has,  indeed,  its  alterna¬ 
tions,  as  there  are  periods  of  health  and  sickness, 
of  vigour  and  lassitude  in  the  animal  frame  ;  but  just 
so  far  as  it  deserves  the  name  of  religion,  it  is 
steady,  active  and  progressive  ;  and  not  a  series  of 
spasms. 

It  is  a  still  more  common  error  to  suppose  that 
religion  is  rather  an  external  than  an  internal  service, 
'riiere  are  multitudes  who  consider  themselves  to 
be  religious,  because  they  attend  upon  religious 
services ;  who  suppose  that  a  regular  attendance 
upon  public  worship,  and  the  outward  forms  of 


HOLY  LIVING. 


295 


leligion  is  enough  to  entitle  them  to  the  character 
of  Christians.  ♦ 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  religion  is  a  new, 
spiritual  life.  Its  commencement  is,  therefore, 
called  a  new  birth,  a  creation,  a  spiritual  resurrec¬ 
tion.  It  is,  as  to  its  principle  or  source,  mysterious. 
No  man  can  tell  what  life  is.  He  sees  its  different 
forms  in  vegetables,  animals,  and  in  the  rational  soul , 
but  he  cannot  detect  the  secret  spring  of  these  dif¬ 
ferent  kinds  of  activity.  The  nature  of  spiritual 
life  is  not  less  inscrutable.  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth ;  ye  hear  the  sound  thereof,  but  ye 
cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh,  nor  whither  it  goeth. 
So  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit.  A  new 
kind  of  activity  manifests  itself  in  the  soul  that  is 
born  of  God  ;  but  whence  that  activity  springs,  and 
how  it  is  maintained,  are  among  the  secret  things 
of  God.  We  cannot  doubt,  however,  that  there  is 
some  permanent  cause  of  those  new  exercises. 
We  know  that  the  life  of  the  body  does  not  consist 
in  the  acts  of  seeing,  hearing,  tasting,  &c. ;  nor 
does  the  soul  consist  of  thought  and  volition ;  nei¬ 
ther  does  spiritual  life  consist  in  the  acts  which 
manifest  its  existence.  There  is  in  regeneration  a 
change  effected  in  the  state  of  the  soul  which  ac¬ 
counts  for  its  perceptions,  purposes  and  feelings 
being  different  from  what  they  were  before,  ana 
for  their  so  continuing.  The  cause  of  this  differ 


296 


HOLY  LIVING. 


ence  is  sometimes  called  a  new  heart,  or  grace,  or 
the  spirit,  or  the  new  man,  or  the  renewal  of  the 
inner  man.  All  these  terms  are  used  to  designate 
the  principle  of  spiritual  life,  which  manifests  itself 
in  the  fruits  of  holiness.  It  is  called  life  because  it 
is  thus  permanent,  or  abiding.  Those  who  for  a 
time  manifest  a  degiee  of  ardour  and  activity  in 
relation  to  religion  and  then  lose  all  interest  in  the 
subject,  are  like  dead  bodies  on  which  electricity 
may  for  a  while  produce  s6me  of  the  appearances 
of  animation,  but  which  soon  become  insensible  to 
all  means  of  excitement.  In  such  cases  there  is  no 
principle  of  life.  Where  religion  is  genuine,  it  has 
its  root  in  a  new  heart  and  is,  therefore,  per¬ 
manent. 

It  is  moreover  characteristic  of  the  life  of  sentient 
and  rational  creatures,  to  be  spontaneous  in  its 
exercises.  There  are  certain  acts  to  which  it 
prompts  and  in  which  it  delights.  It  is  not  by 
constraint  that  animals  eat,  or  drink,  or  sport  in  the 
consciousness  of  strength  ;  neither  is  it  by  compul¬ 
sion  that  men  exercise  their  minds  in  the  reception 
and  communication  of  ideas  and  the  reciprocation 
of  feeling.  To  be  so  isolated  from  their  fellow 
beings  as  to  be  prevented  from  giving  vent  to  the 
force  of  intellectual  and  social  life,  is  the  severest 
of  all  condemnations.  In  like  manner  reverence, 
gratitude,  love,  submission,  are  the  spontaneous 


HOLY  LIVING. 


297 


exercises  of  the  renewed  heart.  They  are  the  free, 
unbidden,  unconstrained  effusions  of  the  soul.  That 
religion  which  is  reluctant,  or  forced,  whether  by 
fear  or  stress  of  conscience,  is  spurious.  Filial 
obedience,  if  rendered  from  a  dread  of  punishment, 
or  from  mere  regard  to  appearances,  is  very  differ¬ 
ent  from  that  which  flows  from  respect  and  love ; 
and  unless  the  service  which  we  render  to  God 
flows  unbidden  from  the  heart,  it  is  no  evidence 
that  we  are  his  children.  The  Bible  represents  the 
people  of  God  as  delighting  in  the  things  of  God. 
His  word,  his  ordinances,  his  sanctuary,  his  pre¬ 
sence  are  their  chief  joy.  When  a  man  is  ill,  he 
takes  little  pleasure  in  the  ordinary  sources  of 
enjoyment,  and  when  the  Christian  is  in  a  declining 
state,  he  knows  little  of  the  joy  which  belongs  to 
religion.  Still  whatever  there  is  of  spiritual  life  in 
any  soul,  will  manifest  itself  in  spontaneous  exer¬ 
cises  of  piety. 

Again,  life,  in  all  the  forms  in  which  we  are 
acquainted  with  it,  is  progressive ;  feeble  at  the 
beginning,  it  advances  gradually  to  maturity.  It  is 
thus  in  plants,  in  animals,  and  ir  the  rational  soul ; 
and  it  is  thus  also  in  the  spiritual  life.  There  is  a 
joy  which  attends  the  beginning  of  a  religious  life, 
which  very  often  declines ;  a  fact  which  may  lead 
even  the  true  Christian  to  think  that  religion  itself  is 
declining  in  his  heart.  Such  joy,  however,  is  a 


298 


HOLY  LIVING. 


very  uncertain  criterion  of  the  progress  oi  decline  of 
the  spiritual  life.  The  gambols  of  young  animals 
show  an  exuberance  of  joy,  which  those  that  have 
reached  maturity  no  longer  experience.  But  how 
imperfect  is  the  organization  of  these  playful  crea¬ 
tures,  how  small  is  their  power  of  endurance,  how 
little  their  serviceable  strength,  in  comparison  with 
that  of  those  who  know  not  half  their  joys.  It  is 
not  unnatural,  therefore,  that  young  Christians 
should  feel  a  glow  of  happiness  from  the  exercise 
of  feelings,  delightful  from  their  novelty  as  well  as 
from  their  nature,  which  those  more  advanced  may 
have  ceased  to  experience,  in  whom  feeling  has 
ripened  into  principle,  and  mere  joyful  emotions 
settled  into  a  peace  which  passes  all  understanding. 

Though  joy  is  not  the  proper  criterion  of  progress 
in  the  divine  life,  it  is  as  essential  to  its  nature  to 
be  progressive,  as  it  is  to  the  life  of  the  body  to 
increase  in  stature  as  it  advances  from  childhood  to 
maturity,  or  to  that  of  the  mind  to  gather  strength 
in  its  progress  from  infancy  to  manhood.  A  man 
with  the  mind  of  an  infant  is  an  idiot ;  he  is  desti¬ 
tute  of  what  belongs  to  a  rational  being.  And  a 
Christian,  who  makes  no  progress  in  holiness,  must 
be  essentially  defective.  The  surest  evidence  of 
such  progress  is  increase  of  strength  ;  strength  of 
faith  ;  strength  of  purpose  ;  strength  of  principle  ; 
strength  to  do  right,  to  resist  evil,  and  tc  endure 


HOLY  LIVING 


299 


suffering,  The  people  of  God  go  from  strength  to 
strength,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord. 

True  religion,  then,  is  not  an  external  service 
nor  is  it  a  mere  excitement  of  fear  and  sorrow  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  peace  and  joy;  nor  is  it  a  fitful  alterna¬ 
tion  of  such  exercises.  It  is  a  permanent  principle 
of  action,  spontaneous  in  its  exercises  and  progres¬ 
sive  in  its  nature.  These  attributes,  are  essential 
to  its  genuineness,  but  they  do  not  constitute  its 
whole  character.  It  is  a  participation  of  the  divine 
nature,"^  or  the  conformity  of  the  soul  to  God.  It 
vs  described  as  the  putting  off  the  old  man  with  his 
deeds  and  putting  on  the  new  man,  which  is  re 
newed  in  knowledge  after  the  image  of  him  that 
created  him  ;t  or  a  being  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
our  mind,  that  we  may  put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness.J  These  two  passages  express  the  same  truth. 
To  be  renewed  in  knowledge,  or  rather,  unto  know¬ 
ledge,  means  to  be  renewed  so  as  to  know ;  and 
knowledge  includes  the  perception,  recognition  and 
approbation  of  what  is  true  and  good.  This  com¬ 
prehensive  sense  of  the  word  is  not  unusual  in  the 
Scriptures  ;  and  hence  it  is  said,  that  to  know  God 
and  Jesus  Christ  is  eternal  life.  Such  knowledge 


2  Pet.  i.  4. 


f  Col.  iii.  10. 


f  Eph.  iv.  ^4 


300 


HOLY  LIVING 


is  the  life  of  the  soul;  it  is  conformity  to  God  in 
the  perception  and  approbation  of  truth.  No  higher 
conception  of  moral  excellence  can  be  formed  than 
that  which  resolves  it  into  the  harmony  of  the  soul 
with  God  in  judgment  and  will.  This  is  wdiat  in 
the  parallel  passage,  the  apostle  calls  righteousness 
and  holiness  of  truth,  (that  is,  founded  upon,  or 
arising  from  truth.)  The  same  idea  of  sanctifica¬ 
tion  is  presented  in  Rom.  xii.  2,  when  it  is  said, 
Be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind, 
that  ye  may  prove  (or,  approve)  what  is  that  good, 
and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God.  This  is 
true  religion,  to  approve  what  God  approves,  to 
hate  what  he  hates,  and  to  delight  in  what  delights 
him. 

It  is  obvious  from  this  representation  that  the 
whole  man  is  the  subject  of  this  change.  There 
are  new  perceptions,  new  purposes  and  new  feel¬ 
ings.  The  mind  becomes  more  and  more  enlight¬ 
ened,  the  will  more  submissive  to  the  rule  of  right, 
and  the  affections  more  thoroughly  purified.  The 
apostle  in  his  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  says. 
The  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly  ;  and  I  pray 
God  your  whole  spirit,  and  soul  and  body  be  pre¬ 
served  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."*^  'The  body  is  the  subject  of  sancti 


*  1  Thess.  V.  23. 


HOLY  LIVING. 


301 


fication  in  various  ways  It  is  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,*  and  is,  therefore,  holy  as  consecrated 
to  the  service,  and  hallowed  by  the  presence  of 
God.  Our  bodies  are  also  members  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  in  virtue  of  this  union,  they  partake  of  the 
benefits  of  redemption,  and  are  hereafter  to  be 
fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body.  And  still 
further,  the  influence  of  the  body  upon  the  soul  is 
so  manifold,  for  good  or  evil,  and,  in  our  fallen 
state,  so  predominantly  for  evil,  that  no  small  part 
of  the  work  of  sanctification  consists  in  ciiunter- 
acting  that  influence.  Paul  says  of  himself,  I  keep 
under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection  ;  lest  by 
any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  my¬ 
self  should  be  a  castaway  .t  And  he  declares  it  to  be 
one  of  the  conditions  of  life,  that  believers  should, 
through  the  Spirit,  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body.ij: 
The  body,  therefore,  is  sanctified  not  only  by  re¬ 
deeming  it  from  the  service  of  sin  and  consecrating 
it  to  the  service  of  God,  but  also  by  restraining  its 
power  over  the  soul,  making  it  temperate  in  its  de¬ 
mands  and  submissive  to  the  will  of  the  renewed 
man. 

As  the  work  of  sanctification  extends  to  all  our 
faculties,  so  the  image  of  God  which  it  is  designed 
to  impress  upon  the  soul,  includes  all  moral  excel- 

•  I  Cor.  vi.  19.  j-  1  Cor.  ix,  27. 

26 


■t  Rom.  viii.  13. 


HOLY  LIVING. 


lence.  The  different  graces,  such  as  love,  faith,  meek¬ 
ness,  kindness,  &;c.,  are  but  different  manifestations 
of  one  and  the  same  principle  of  goodness.  Not 
that  justice  and  benevolence  are  the  same  sentiment 
or  disposition,  ^or  they  are  distinct;  but  the  same 
principle  which  makes  a  man  just,  will  make  him 
benevolent.  Religion,  or  the  principle  of  divine 
life^  prompts  to  all  kinds  of  excellence ;  and,  m 
itself,  as  much  to  one  as  to  another;  just  as  the 
principle  of  life,  in  plants  and  animals  and  in  the 
rational  soul,  leads  to  a  harmonious  development  of 
the  whole  in  all  its  parts.  The  root  increases  as 
the  branches  enlarge  ;  the  body  grows  as  the  several 
members  increase  in  size ;  and  judgment  and 
memory  gain  strength  as  the  other  powers  of  the 
mind  increase  in  vigour.  Every  thing  depends 
upon  this  harmonious  progress.  If  the  arms  re¬ 
tained  their  infantile  proportions,  while  the  rest  of 
tlie  body  advanced  to  maturity,  deformity  and  help¬ 
lessness  would  be  the  result.  Or  if  judgment  and 
feeling  gained  their  full  force,  while  memory  and 
conscience  remained  as  in  infancy,  the  mind  would 
be  completely  derange  1.  The  same  law  of  sym¬ 
metrical  development  is  impressed  upon  the  life  of 
the  soul.  If  it  exists  at  all,  it  manifests  itself  in 
all  the  forms  of  goodness.  There  may  be  some 
kinds  of  excellence,  where  others  are  absent ;  but 
then  such  excellence  has  not  its  source  in  the 


HOLY  LIVING. 


303 


divine  life ;  or  in  a  new  heart ;  for  that,  in  its  verv 
nature,  includes  all  moral  excellence.  We  feel  ii 
to  be  a  contradiction  to  say  that  he  is  a  good  man, 
who  though  just,  is  unkind;  because  goodness  in¬ 
cludes  both  justice  and  benevolence.  And  it  is  no 
less  a  contradiction  to  say  that  a  man  is  religious 
who  13  not  honest,  because  religion  includes  honesty 
as  well  as  piety.  It  is  not  simply  intended  that  the 
word  religion  comprehends  and  expresses  all  forms 
of  moral  excellence,  but  that  the  thing  meant  by 
religion,  or  the  new  man,  the  principle  of  grace  or 
0  divine  life  in  the  heart,  includes  within  itself  all 
inds  of  goodness.  Ueverence,  love,  submission, 
justice,  benevolence,  are  but  different  exercises  of 
one  and  the  same  principle  of  holiness.  There  can 
be  no  holiness  without  benevolence,  none  without 
reverence,  none  without  justice.  The  man,  there¬ 
fore,  who  is  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind  after 
the  image  of  God,  is  one  who  has  that  moral  excel¬ 
lence  which  expresses  itself,  according  to  its  different 

objects  and  occasions,  in  all  the  various  graces  of 
the  Spirit. 

The  Scriptures  give  especial  prominence  to  the 
love  of  God  as  the  most  comprehensive  and  im¬ 
portant  of  all  the  manifestations  of  this  inward 
spiritual  life.  We  are  so  constituted  as  to  take 
delight  m  objects  suited  to  our  nature ;  and  the  per¬ 
ception  of  qualities  adapted  to  our  constitution,  in 


304 


HOLY  LIVING 


external  objects,  produces  complacency  and  desire. 
The  soul  rests  in  them  as  a  good  to  be  loved  for 
its  own  sake  ;  and  the  higher  these  qualities,  the 
more  pure  and  elevated  are  the  affections  which 
they  excite.  It  is  the  effect  of  regeneration  to  enable 
us  to  perceive  and  love  the  infinite  and  absolute  per¬ 
fection  of  God,  as  comprehending  all  kinds  of  ex¬ 
cellence,  and  as  suited  to  the  highest  powers  and 
most  enlarged  capacities  of  our  nature.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  heart  is  renewed  it  turns  to  God, 
and  rests  in  his  excellence  as  the  supreme  object  of 
complacency  and  desire. 

Love  to  God,  however,  is  not  mere  compla¬ 
cency  in  moral  excellence.  It  is  the  love  of  a 
personal  being,  who  stands  in  the  most  intimate 
relations  to  ourselves,  as  the  autiior  of  our  exist¬ 
ence,  as  our  preserver  and  ruler,  as  our  father,  who 
with  conscious  love  watches  over  us,  protects  us, 
supplies  all  our  wants,  holds  communion  with  us, 
manifesting  himself  unto  us  as  he  does  not  unto 
the  world.  The  feelings  of  dependence,  obligation 
and  relationship,  enter  largely  into  that  comprehen¬ 
sive  affection  called  the  love  of  God.  This  affec¬ 
tion  is  still  further  modified  by  the  apprehension  of 
the  infinite  wisdom  and  power  of  its  object.  These 
attributes  are  the  proper  object  of  admiration ;  and, 
when  infinite  in  degree  and  united  with  infinite 
goodness,  they  excite  that  wonder,  admiraiion, 


HOLY  LIVING. 


305 


icverence  and  complacency  which  constitute  adora¬ 
tion,  and  which  find  in  prostration  and  worship 
their  only  adequate  expression.  There  is  no  attri¬ 
bute  of  religion  more  essential  to  its  nature  than 
this  reverence  for  God.  Whenever  heaven  has 
been  opened  to  the  view  of  men,  its  inhabitants  have 
been  seen  with  their  faces  veiled  and  bowing  before 
the  throne  of  God.  And  all  acceptable  worship 
upon  earth,  proceeds  from  the  humble  and  contrite 
who  tremble  at  his  word. 

The  exercise  of  these  feelings  of  reverence  and 
love  is  either,  (so  to  speak,)  casual,  as  the  thoughts 
of  God  pass  and  repass  through  the  soul  during  the 
busy  hours  of  the  day ;  or  it  is  more  prolonged, 
when  the  soul  withdraws  from  the  world,  and  sets 
itself  in  the  presence  of  God,  to  adore  his  excel¬ 
lence,  to  thank  him  for  his  goodness,  and  to  sup¬ 
plicate  his  blessing.  The  spirit  of  devotion  which 
so  pre-eminently  distinguished  the  Redeemer,  dwells 
in  all  his  people.  They  are  all  devout;  they  all 
walk  with  God ;  they  all  feel  him  to  be  near  and 
rejoice  in  his  presence ;  and  they  all  have  commu¬ 
nion  with  him  in  acts  of  private  and  public  worship. 
There  is  no  religion  without  this  intercourse  of  the 
soul  with  God,  as  there  is  no  life  without  warmth 
and  motion  in  the  body.  And  as  the  body  rapidly 
decays  when  dead ;  so  the  soul  perishes  when  not 
in  communion  with  Ga  i. 

26^ 


306 


HOLY  LIVING. 


This  love  of  God  will  manifest  itself  in  submis¬ 
sion  and  obedience.  The  former  is  an  humble 
acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God,  including  the  per¬ 
ception  and  acknowledgment  that  the  commands  of 
God  concerning  all  things  are  right,  and  that  his 
dispensations  are  all  wise,  merciful  and  just.  Even 
when  clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him, 
religion  forces  upon  us  the  conviction  that  justice 
and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne.  The 
renewed  soul  filled  with  the  assurance  of  the  wis¬ 
dom,  power  and  goodness  of  God,  resigns  itself  into 
his  hands,  saying.  Thy  will  be  done.  When  under 
the  influence  of  this  spirit,  it  is  free  from  the  dis¬ 
content  and  misgivings  which  destroy  the  peace 
and  aggravate  the  guilt  of  those  who  have  no  such 
confidence  that  the  judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do 
right. 

Love  to  God  must  produce  obedience,  because  it 
supposes  a  conformity  of  the  soul  to  God  in  the 
perception  and  love  of  what  is  true  and  right;  and 
obeaience  is  only  the  expression  or  outward  mani¬ 
festation  of  this  conformity  ;  just  as  disobedience  is 
tne  evidence  of  a  contrariety  between  our  will  and 
the  will  of  God.  Wherever  there  is  reconciliation 
to  God,  or  the  restoration  of  the  divine  image,  there 
must  be  conformity  of  heart  and  life  to  the  will  of 
God.  It  is  a  contradiction  to  say  that  a  man  is  like 
God,  or  IS  a  partaker  of  his  nature,  who  does  not 


HOLY  LIVING. 


307 


love  what  God  loves,  and  avoid  what  he  hates. 
Obedience  is  but  love  in  action.  It  is  but  the  voice, 
and  look,  and  carriage  which  affection,  of  necessity, 
assumes.  For  the  love  of  God  is  not,  as  already 
said,  mere  love  to  excellence ;  it  is  the  love  of  a 
heavenly  Father  ;  and,  therefore,  it  secures  obedi 


ence,  not  only  because  it  supposes  a  congenialitv  of 
mind,  if  we  may  so  speak,  between  the  people  of 
God  and  God  himself,  but  also  because  it  is  his  will 
that  we  should  be  obedient;  it  is  what  is  pleasing 
to  him ;  and  love  is  no  longer  love  if  it  does  not 
lead  to  the  purpose  and  endeavour  to  give  pleasure 
to  its  object.  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and 
keepeth  them,  said  our  Saviour,  he  it  is  that  loveth 
me.  Obedience  is  not  so  much  the  evidence  of 
love,  as  it  is  love  itself  made  visible,  or  expressed. 
The  habitual  tenor  of  a  man’s  life  gives  a  more 
faithful  exhibition  of  his  state  of  heart,  than  any 
occasional  ebullition  of  feeling,  or  any  mere  verbal 
professions  ;  and  where  the  tenor  of  the  life  is  not 
in  conformity  with  the  will  of  God,  there  the  heart 
must  be  in  opposition  to  that  will ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  wherever  there  is  love,  there  must  be  obe- 


dience. 

It  would  be  out  of  analogy  with  the  order  o* 
things  as  established  by  God,  if  the  exercises  of  the 
spiritual  life  were  not  attended  by  peace  and  Joj 
Happiness  is  so  intimately  associated  with  these 


308 


HOLl  LIVING 


exercises  that  the  apostle  says,  To  be  spiritually 
minded  is  life  and  peace.  Excellence  and  enjoy 
ment  are  blended  in  inseparable  union  ;  so  that  all 
right  emotions  and  affections  are  pleasurable.  And 
this  pleasure  is,  in  kind  if  not  in  degree,  propor¬ 
tionable  to  the  dignity  of  the  powers  from  whose 
exercise  they  flow.  The  senses  afford  the  lowest 
kind  of  happiness  ;  then,  in  an  ascending  scale,  the 
social  affections  ;  then  the  intellectual  powers  ;  then 
the  moral  emotions,  and  then  the  religious  affec¬ 
tions.  The  kind  of  enjoyment  which  attend  these 
latter  is  felt  to  be  more  pure  and  elevated,  more 
satisfying  and  better  suited  to  our  nature,  than  that 
which  flows  from  any  other  source.  Hence  the 
Scriptures  ascribe  to  communion  with  God  a  joy 
that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  and  a  peace 
which  passes  all  understanding.  Joy,  therefore,  is 
one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  it  is  one  of  the  accom- 
paiiiments  and  evidences  of  spiritual  life ;  it  is  a 
healthful  affusion ;  it  is  the  oil  of  gladness,  which 
the  Spirit  pours  over  the  renewed  soul,  to  invigo¬ 
rate  its  exercises^  to  brighten  its  visage,  and  to 
make  it  active  in  the  service  and  praise  of  God. 

As  the  image  of  God,  after  which  the  soul  is 
renewed,  consists  in  moral  excellence,  and  as  moral 
excellence  means  that  state  of  mind,  which  causes 
h.  man  to  feel  and  act  right  under  all  circumstances, 
it  is  impossible  that  those  who  have  correct  views# 


HOLY  LIVING. 


309 


and  feelings  in  regard  to  God,  should  not  feel  and 
act  correctly  in  regard  to  their  fellow-men.  Those 
whom  the  Bible  designates  as  good  men  a^e  bene¬ 
volent  and  just  no  less  than  devout.  The  compre¬ 
hensive  statement  of  our  duty  towards  our  fellow- 
men,  is  found  in  the  command.  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself.  The  love  here  intended  is 
that  disposition  which  leads  us  to  regard  our  neigh¬ 
bour  with  respect  and  kindness,  and  to  seek  to  do 
him  good.  This  love  is  long-suffering  and  kind  ; 
it  does  not  envy  the  happiness  of  others  but  rejoices 
in  their  welfare.  ’  It  is  not  proud,  nor  does  it  behave 
itself  unseemly.  It  seeketh  notits  own.  It  rejoices 
not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoices  in  the  truth.  It  beareth 
all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things. 
Without  this  love,  all  professions  of  piety,  all  gifts, 
all  outward  acts  of  self-denial  or  charity,  are  worth¬ 
less.  It  belongs  essentially  to  the  Christian  cha¬ 
racter  j  for  as  self-love,  prompting  us  to  the  pursuit 
of  our  own  happiness,  belongs  to  our  nature  as  men, 
so  benevolence,  prompting  us  to  seek  the  happiness 
of  others,  belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  new  man. 
A  new  man  means  a  good  man,  one  who  is  like 
God,  holy,  just,  benevolent  and  merciful. 

1  his  meek,  kind,  trustful  temper,  which  religion 
never  fails  to  produce,  is,  of  course,  variously 
modified  by  the  various  characters  of  individuals, 
and  by  the  relations  of  life.  It  is  no  part  of  the 


310 


HOLV  LIVING 


teaching  of  the  Bible  that  we  must  regard  all  men 
with  the  same  feelings.  While  it  inculcates  bene¬ 
volence  towards  all  men,  it  makes  provision  for  the 
peculiar  and  closer  relations  in  which  men  stand  to 
each  other,  as  members  of  one  family,  or  one 
society.  And  the  same  principle  of  religion  which 
produces  this  general  benevolence,  secures  the 
exercise  of  all  the  affections  which  belong  to  the 
various  relations  of  life.  It  causes  us  to  render 
obedience  to  whom  obedience  is  due,  fear  to  whom 
fear,  honor  to  whom  honor.  It  makes  men  in  their 
intercourse  with  their  equals  respectful,  considerate 
and  amiable ;  in  their  conduct  to  their  inferiors 
condescending,  just  and  kind. 

It  cannot  be  too  well  considered  that  these  social 
virtues  are  essential  to  true  religion.  The  people 
of  God  are  those  who  are  like  God;  but  God,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  just,  merciful,  long-suffering, 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth.  Those,  therefore, 
who  are  dishonest,  unkind,  proud,  revengeful,  or 
deceitful,  are  not  his  people  ;  they  do  not  bear  the 
heavenly  image,  and  have  never  been  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  their  minds.  Let  no  man  deceive  him¬ 
self  with  the  hope  that  though  a  bad  parent,  child, 
or  neighbour,  he  may  be  a  good  Christian.  A 
Christian  is  like  Christ. 

Another  form  in  which  a  renewed  heart  cannot 
fail  to  manifest  itself  is  in  self-denial.  If  any  man 


HOLY  LIVING. 


311 


urill  come  after  me,  said  the  Saviour,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me.  The 
necessity  of  self-denial  arises  partly  from  the  fact 
that  the  gratification  of  our  own  wishes  is  often  in¬ 
consistent  with  the  good  of  others  ;  and  partly  from 
the  fact  that  so  many  of  our  desires  and  passions 
are  inordinate  or  evil.  The  rule  prescribed  by  the 
gospel  is,  that  we  are  not  to  please  ourselves,  but 
every  one  must  please  his  neighbour,  for  good  to 
edification,  even  as  Christ  pleased  not  himself,  but 
though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became 
poor,  that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich. 

The  daily  intercourse  of  life  furnishes  constant 
occasion  for  the  exercise  of  this  kind  of  self-denial. 
He  who  has  the  same  mind  that  was  in  Christ, 
instead  of  being  selfish,  is  ready  to  defer  his  own 
advantage  to  that  of  others,  to  give  up  his  own  gra¬ 
tification,  and  even  his  own  Vights  for  the  good  of 
others.  If  meat  causes  his  brother  to  offend,  he 
will  not  eat  meat  while  the  world  lasts.  To  the 
Jews,  he  becomes  as  a  Jew,  that  he  may  gain  the 
Jews.  To  the  weak,  he  becomes  as  weak,  that  he 
may  gain  the  weak.  He  does  not  live  for  himself. 
His  own  interest  is  not  the  main  end  of  his  pursuit. 
As  a  disinterested  regard  for  the  good  of  other'* 
pre-eminently  distinguished  the  Redeemer,  it  cha 
racterises  all  his  followers ;  for  God  has  predesti 


312 


HOLY  LIVING. 


nated  them  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son. 

The  call  for  self-denial  arising  from  the  con  op¬ 
tion  of  our  nature,  is  still  more  frequent.  In  con¬ 
sequence  of  the  fall,  the  senses  have  attained  an 
undue  influence  over  the  soul ;  they  are  incessan‘‘ 
in  their  demands,  and  become  more  importunate 
the  more  they  are  indulged.  It  is  inconsistent 
with  reason  to  yield  ourselves  to  the  power  of 
these  lower  principles  of  our  nature ;  for  reason 
itself  teaches  us  that  if  a  man  is  governed  by  h>s 
body,  he  is  the  servant  of  a  slave.  But  if  even  a 
rational  man  feels  bound  to  subject  the  body  to  the 
mind,  the  religious  man  cannot  be  sensual.  They 
that  are  Christians  have  mortified  the  flesh  with  its 
affections  and  lusts ;  they  keep  their  bodies  in 
subjection. 

What  belongs  to  the*  body  is,  in  a  certain  sense, 
external ;  the  evil  dispositions  of  the  heart  are  in 
more  intimate  connection  with  the  soul.  Pride, 
vanity,  envy,  malice,  the  love  of  self  are  more 
formidable  foes  than  mere  bodily  appetites.  They 
are  stronger,  more  enduring,  and  more  capable  of 
deceit.  As  these  dispositions  are  deeply  seated  in 
our  nature,  the  putting  off  the  old  man,  which  is 
corrupt,  or  the  destruction  of  these  unholy  prin¬ 
ciples,  is  the  most  difficult  of  all  Christian  duties, 
and  renders  the  believer’s  life  a  perpetual  confficU 


HOLY  LIVING. 


313 


The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit  and  the  spirit 
against  the  flesh,  so  that  he  cannot  do  the  things 
that  he  would.  In  this  conflict,  however,  the  better 
principle  is  habitually,  though  not  uniformly,  vic¬ 
torious  ;  for  the  children  of  God  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  spirit. 

It  appears,  then,  even  from  this  short  survey,  that 
true  Christians  are  renewed  after  the  image  of  God 
so  as  to  be  holy  ;  they  love  God,  they  rest  with 
complacency  on  his  perfections,  they  acquiesce  in 
his  will,  and  rejoice  in  their  relation  to  him  as  his 
creatures  and  children.  They  are  habitually  devout 
and  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  of  their  spirits 
and  with  Jesus  Christ  his  Son.  They  are  obedient 
children,  not  fashioning  themselves  according  to 
their  former  lusts,  but  as  he  that  called  them  is 
holy,  so  are  they  holy  in  all  manner  of  conver¬ 
sation.  As  they  bear  the  image  of  a  just  and 
merciful  God,  they  are  honest  and  benevolent 
towards  their  fellow-men,  not  seeking  their  own, 
but  the  good  of  others.  And  as  this  victory  over 
themselves  and  this  conformity  to  the  image  of  God 
cannot  be  obtained  without  conflict  and  self-denial, 
they  keep  up  a  constant  opposition  to  the  more 
subtle  evils  of  the  heart. 

Some  may  be  ready  to  say  that  if  this  is  religion, 
then  no  man  is  religious.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
many  are  called,  and  few  chosen.  Strait  is  the 

27 


314 


HOLY  LIVING. 


gate  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto 
life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it.  We  must  take 
our  idea  of  religion  from  the  Bible,  and  not  from 
the  lives  of  professors.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  Bible  makes  religion  to  consist  in  love  to  God 
and  man ;  nor  can  it  be  questioned  that  the  love  of 
God  will  manifest  itself  in  reverence,  devotion  and 
obedience,  and  the  love  of  men  in  benevolence  and 
justice.  And  our  own  conscience  tells  us  that  no 
external  forms,  no  outward  professions,  no  assiduity 
in  religious  services,  can  entitle  us  to  the  character 
of  Christians,  unless  we  are  thus  devout  and  obe¬ 
dient  towards  God,  thus  just  and  benevolent  towards 
our  fellow-men,  and  thus  pure  and  self-denying  as 
regards  ourselves.  But  while  it  is  certain  that  these 
traits  are  all  essential  to  the  Christian  character,  it 
is  not  asserted  that  all  Christians  are  alike.  There 
is  as  great  diversity  in  their  characters  as  Christians, 
as  in  their  bodily  appearance,  their  mental  powers, 
or  social  dispositions  But  as  all  men,  in  the  midst 
of  this  endless  variety,  have  the  same  features,  the 
same  mental  faculties,  and  the  same  social  affec¬ 
tions,  so  all  Christians,  however  they  may  differ 
in  the  strength  or  combination  of  the  Christian 
graces,  are  all  led  by  the  Spirit  and  all  produce  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit. 

Having  given  this  brief  outline  of  the  nature  of 
true  religion,  it  is  proper  td  say  a  few  words  as  to 


HOLY  LIVING. 


315 


its  necessity  It  should  be  ever  borne  in  mind  that 
the  necessity  of  holiness  is  absolute.*  With  regard 
to  other  things,  some,  though  desirable,  are  not 
essential,  and  others,  though  essential  under  ordi¬ 
nary  circumstances,  are  not  universally  and  abso- 

V 

lutely  necessary.  But  holiness  is  necessary  in  such 
a  sense  that  salvation,  without  it,  is  impossible, 
because  salvation  principally  consists  in  this  very 
transformation  of  the  heart.  Jesus  is  a  Saviour 
because  he  saves  his  people  from  their  sins.  Those, 
therefore,  who  are  not  sanctified,  are  not  saved. 
The  doctrine  that  a  man  may  live  in  sin,  and  still 
be  in  a  state  of  salvation,  is  as  much  a  contradiction, 
as  to  say  that  a  man  may  be  ill,  when  in  health.  A 
state  of  salvation  is  a  state  of  holiness.  The  two 
things  are  inseparable  ;  because  salvation  is  not  mere 
redemption  from  the  penalty  of  sin,  but  deliverance 
from  its  power.  It  is  freedom  from  bondage  to  the 
appetites  of  the  body  and  the  evil  passions  of  the 
heart ;  it  is  an  introduction  into  the  favour  and 
fellowship  of  God ;  the  restoration  of  the  divine 
image  to  the  soul,  so  that  it  loves  God  and  delights 
in  his  service.  Salvation,  therefore,  is  always 
begun  on  earth.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he 
th^t  believeth  on  me  hath  eternal  life.  This  is  the 
language  of  our  Saviour.  To  be  spiritually  minded  is 
life;  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death.  There  is  no 
delusion  more  inexcusable,  because  none  is  more 


316 


HOLY  LIVING. 


directly  opposed  to  every  doctrine  of  the  Bible, 
than  the  idea  tha:  a  state  oi  grace  is  consistent  with 
a  life  of  sin.  Without  holiness  no  man  can  see 
God.  Whatever  our  ecclesiastical  connexions  may 
be,  whatever  our  privilege^  or  professions,  if  we 
are  not  holy  in  heart  and  life  ;  if  we  are  not  habi¬ 
tually  governed  by  a  regard  to  the  will  of  God  ;  if 
we  do  not  delight  in  communion  wdth  him,  and 
desire  conformity  to  his  image  ;  if  we  are  not  led 
by  the  Spirit  and  do  not  exhibit  the  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meek¬ 
ness  and  temperance  which  that  Spirit  always 
produces — then  we  are  not  religious  men,  nor  are 
we  in  a  state  of  salvation. 

The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  proud,  selfish, 
covetous,  impure  Christians.  Christians  are  par¬ 
takers  of  a  holy  calling,  they  are  washed,  and 
sanctified  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God;  they  are 
saints,  the  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus ;  they  mind 
spiritual  things ;  they  have  crucified  the  flesh  with 
its  affections  and  lusts ;  they  are  poor  in  spirit 
meek,  pure  in  heart,  merciful;  they  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness.  Not  that  they  have 
already  apprehended,  or  are  already  perfect;  but 
they  follow  after,  if  that  they  may  apprehend  that 
(or  which  they  -are  also  apprehended  of  Christ 
Jesus;  forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind,  and 


WOLY  LIVING. 


317 


reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before, 
they  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Their  con¬ 
versation  is  in  heaven  ;  from  whence  also  they  look 
for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall 
change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working 

whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
himself. 

Again,  as  God  is  holy,  it  is  necessary  that  his 
people  should  be  holy.  There  can  be  no  commu¬ 
nion  without  concord,  or  congeniality.  If  one  loves 
what  another  hates,  approves  what  another  con¬ 
demns,  desires  what  another  rejects,  there  can  be 
no  fellowship  between  them.  What  concord  hath 
Christ  with  Belial ;  or  what  fellowship  hath  light 
with  darkness  ?  So  long,  therefore,  as  we  are  what 
God  disapproves ;  so  long  as  we  do  not  love  what 
he  loves,  there  can  be  no  fellowship  between  him 
and  us.  Hence  Christ  says.  Marvel  not  that  I  said 
unto  you,  ye  must  be  born  again.  That  which  is 
born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh  ^  and  that  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit.  Phe  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God,  and  so  long  as  this  prevails  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  that  we  should  enjoy  his  presence.  As  God 
is  the  only  adequate  portion  of  the  soul ;  as  his 
favour  and  fellowship  are  essential  to  our  happi¬ 
ness  ;  as  heaven  consists  in  seeing,  loving  and 

27* 


318 


HOLY  LIVING. 


serving  God,  it  is  plain  that  unless  we  are  sanctified 
we  cannot  be  saved ;  we  cannot  enjoy  the  society, 
the  employments,  or  the  pleasures  of  the  people 
of  God  above,  if  we  take  no  delight  in  them  here. 
The  necessity  of  holiness,  therefore,  arises  out  of 
the  very  nature  of  God,  and  is  consequently  abso¬ 
lute  and  unchangeable. 

We  know  also  that  holiness  is  the  end  of  redemp¬ 
tion.  Christ  gave  himself  for  his  church  that  he 
might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it,  and  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish.  He  died  the  just  for 
the  unjust  that  he  might  bring  us  unto  God.  The 
object  of  redemption  is  not  attained  in  the  case  of 
those  who  remain  in  sin  ;  in  other  words,  they  are 
not  redeemed.  It  is,  therefore,  to  subvert  the  whole 
Gospel,  and  to  make  the  death  of  Christ  of  none 
effect,  to  suppose  that  redemption  and  continuance 
in  sin  are  compatible. '  The  whole  design  and  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  mission  and  sufferings  of  the  Saviour 
would  be  frustrate<i  if  his  people  were  not  made 
partakers  of  his  holiness ;  for  the  glory  of  God  is 
promoted  in  them  and  by  them  only  so  far  as  they 
are  made  holy,  and  the  recompense  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer  is  his  bringing  his  people  into  conformity 
to  nis  own  image,  that  he  may  be  the  first-born 
among  many  brethren.  Every  child  of  God  feels 
that  the  charm  and  glory  of  redemption  is  deliver¬ 
ance  from  sin  and  conformity  to  God.  This  is  thta 


HOLY  LIVING. 


319 


crown  of  righteousness,  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God,  the  exaltation  and  blessedness  for  which  he 
longs,  and  suffers  and  prays.  To  tell  him  that  he  may 
be  saved  without  being  made  holy,  is  to  confound 
^  Ins  ideas  of  salvation,  and  to  cjush  all  his  hopes. 
The  nature  of  salvation,  the  character  of  God,  the 
declarations  of  his  word,  the  design  of  redemption, 
all  concur  to  prove  that  holiness  is  absolutely  and 
necessary,  so  that  whatever  we  may 
or  whatever  we  may  have,  if  we  are  not  holy, 
we  are  ^t  the  children  of  God  nor  the  heirs  of  his 
kingdom. 


Section  II.  The  means  of  sanctijication. 

The  attainment  of  holiness  is  often  treated,  even 
by  Christian  writers,  as  a  mere  question  of  morals, 
or  at  most  of  natural  religion.  Men  are  directed  to 
control,  by  the  force  of  reason,  their  vicious  pro¬ 
pensities  ;  to  set  in  array  before  the  mind  the  mo¬ 
tives  to  virtuous  living,  and  to  strengthen  the  will 
by  acts  of  self-restraint.  Conscience  is  summoned 
to  sanction  the  dictates  of  reason,  or  to  warn  the 
sinner  of  the  consequences  of  transgression.  The 
doctrines  of  the  presence  and  providence  of  God, 
^nd  of  future  retribution,  are  more  or  less  relied 
apon  to  prevent  the  indulgence  of  sin,  and  to  stimu 
iate  to  the  practice  of  virtue.  Special  direction? 


320 


HOLY  LIVING. 


are  given  how  to  cultivate  virtuous  habits,  or  to 
correct  those  which  are  evil. 

As  we  are  rational  beings  and  were  meant  to  be 
governed  by  reason  in  opposition  to  appetite  and 
passion,  there  is  much  that  is  true  and  important  in 
such  disquisitions  on  the  practice  of  virtue.  But 
as  we  are  depraved  beings,  destitute  of  any  recu¬ 
perative  power  in  ourselves,  such  rules  and  the 
efforts  to  which  they  lead,  must,  by  themselves,  be 
ineffectual.  God  has  endowed  the  body  with  a 
restorative  energy,  which  enables  it  to  throw  off 
what  is  noxious  to  the  system,  and  to  heal  the 
wounds,  which  accident  or  malice  may  have  in¬ 
flicted.  But  when  the  system  itself  is  deranged, 
instead  of  correcting  what  is  amiss,  it  aggravates 
what  would,  otherwise,  be  a  mere  temporary 
disorder.  And  if  by  external  means  the  evil 
is  checked  in  one  part,  it  re-appears  in  another. 
Though  you  amputate  a  decaying  limb,  the  re¬ 
maining  portion  may  soon  exhibit  symptoms  of 
mortification.  So  long  as  the  system  is  deranged 
such  means  are  mere  palliatives,  concealing  or  di¬ 
verting  the  evil,  but  leaving  the  source  of  it  un¬ 
touched.  It  is  no  less  true  that  so  long  as  the  heart 
is  unrenewed,  all  that  reason  and  conscience  can  do 
is  of  little  avail.  They  may  obstruct  the  stream, 
or  divert  it  into  secret  channels,  but  they  cannot 
reLch  the  fountain.  As  we  retain  since  the  fall, 


HOLY  LIVING. 


321 


reason,  the  power  of  choice,  conscience,  the  social 
affections,  a  sense  of  justice,  fear,  shame,  &;c., 
much  may  be  done,  by  a  skilful  management  of 
these  principles  of  action,  towards  producing  pro¬ 
priety  of  conduct  and  even  great  amiability  and 
worth  of  character.  But  it  is  impossible,  by  these 
means,  to  call  into  existence  right  views  and  feel¬ 
ings  towards  God  and  our  neighbour,  or  to  eradicate 
the  selfishness,  pride  and  other  forms  of  evil  by 
which  our  nature  is  corrupted.  A  man  may  be 
brought,  by  reason  and  conscience,  to  change  his 
conduct,  but  not  to  change  his  heart.  A  sense  of 
duty  may  force  him  to  give  alms  to  a  man  he  hates, 
but  ii  cannot  change  hatred  into  love.  The  desire  of 
happiness  may  induce  him  to  engage  externally  in 
the  service  of  God,  but  it  cannot  make  that  service 
a  delight.  The  affections  do  not  obey  the  dictates 
of  reason,  nor  the  commands  of  conscience.  They 
may  be  measurably  restrained  in  their  manifesta¬ 
tions,  but  cannot  be  changed  in  their  nature.  They 
follow  their  own  law.  Tney  delight  in  what  is 
suited  to  the  disposition  of  him  who  exercises  them. 
Holding  up  to  them  what  they  ought  to  delight  in, 
cannot  secure  theii  devotion. 

It  is  not  meant  to  depreciate  reason  and  con¬ 
science,  but  it  is  necessary  that  their  true  province 
should  be  known,  that  we  may  not  rely  upon  inade¬ 
quate  means  in  our  efforts  to  become  holy.  Thouffl 


322 


HOLY  LIVING. 


Scripture  and  experience  leach  us  that  our  own 
unaided  powers  are  insufficieni  to  bring  us  td'ihe^ 
knowledge  and  love  of  God,  the  rules  which  reason 
suggests  for  the  culture  of  moral  excellence,  are, 
for  the  renewed  man,  far  from  being  destitute  ol 
value.  It  is  no  doubt  of  importance  that  we  should 
De  acquainted  with  the  counsels  of  the  wise  on 
this  subject,  and  that  we  should  habituate  ourselves 
to  the  vigilant  use  of  all  these  subordinate  means 
of  improvement;  remembering,  however,  that  it  is 
not  by  the  strength  of  our  own  purposes,  nor  by 
the  force  of  moral  considerations,  nor  by  any  rules 
of  discipline,  that  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  can  be 
either  produced  or  sustained. 

While  one  class  of  men  place  their  chief  reliance 
for  moral  improvement  upon  reason  and  conscience, 
another,  and  perhaps  a  larger  class,  rely  upon 
means  which,  though  they  have  no  tendency  in 
themselves  to  produce  holiness,  are  falsely  assumed 
to  have,  in  virtue  of  the  appointment  of  God,  an 
inherent  efficacy  for  that  purpose.  Such  are  not 
(Only  the  ablutions,  pilgrimages  and  penances  of 
the  heathen,  but  the  multiplied  rites  of  corrupt 
Christian  churches.  Sprinkling  the  body  with 
consecrated  water,  the  repetition  of  forms  of  prayer 
attendance  upon  religious  services  not  understood, 
anointing  with  oil,  the  imposition  of  hands,  receiving, 
though  without  faith,  the  holy  sacraments,  are  sup 


holy  living. 


323 


posed  to  -jonvey  grace  to  the  soul.  Great  reliance 
IS  placed  on  retirement  from  the  world  ^  on  praying 
at  particular  times  or  places,  or  in  a  particular 
posture,  and  on  the  whole  routine  of  ascetic  disci¬ 
pline.  With  what  laborious  and  unavailing  dili¬ 
gence  these  means  of  destroying  sin  have  been 
employed,  the  history  of  the  church  gives  melan¬ 
choly  evidence.  Even  in  the  days  of  the  apostles 
the  disposition  to  rely  on  such  means  for  attaining 
holiness  had  begun  to  manifest  itself.  There  were 
even  then  men  who  commanded  to  abstain  from 
meats,  who  forbade  marriage,  who  said,  taste  not 
touch  not,  handle  not ;  which  things,  says  the 
apostle,  have  indeed  a  show  of  wisdom  in  will- 
worship  and  humility,  and  in  neglecting  and  dis¬ 
honouring  the  body,  and  yet  only  served  to  satisfy 
the  flesh. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  a  different  doctrine. 
They  teach  that  believers  are  so  united  to  Christ, 
that  they  are  not  only  partakers  of  the  merit  of  his 
death,  but  also  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  which  dwells  in 
them  as  a  principle  of  life,  bringing  them  more  and 
more  into  con  brmity  with  the  image  of  God,  and 
working  in  them  both  to  will  and  to  do,  according 
to  his  own  good  pleasure.  They  teach  that  so  lon^» 
as  men  are  under  the  law,  that  is,  are  bound  tc» 


*  Col.  ii.  21— f33 


624 


HOLY  LIVING. 


satisfy  its  demands  as  the  ground  of  their  accept 
ance  with  God  and  are  governed  by  a  legal  spirit, 
or  a  mere  sense  of  duty  and  fear  of  punishment, 
they  are  in  the  condition  of  slaves ;  incapable  of 
right  feelings  towards  God,  or  of  producing  the 
fruits  of  holiness.  But  when,  by  the  death  of  Christ, 
they  are  freed  from  the  law,  in  the  sense  above 
stated,  their  whole  relation  to  God  is  changed. 
They  are  no  longer  slaves,  but  children.  Being 
united  to  Christ  in  his  death,  they  are  partakers  of 
his  life,  and  in  virtue  of  this  union  they  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God.  They  are  henceforth  led  by  the 
Spirit  which  dwells  in  them ;  and  this  Spirit  is  a 
source  of  life  not  only  to  the  soul  but  also  to  the 
body  ;  for  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  Christ 
from  the  dead,  dwell  in  us,  he  that  raised  up  Christ 
from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  our  bodies,  by  his 
Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us.  The  doctrine  of  sancti¬ 
fication,  therefore,  as  taught  in  the  Bible  is,  that  we 
are  made  holy  not  by  the  force  of  conscience,  nor 
of  moral  motives,  nor  by  acts  of  discipline,  but  by 
being  united  to  Christ  so  as  to  become  reconciled 
to  God,  and  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Christ 
is  made  unto  us  sanctification  as  well  as  justifica¬ 
tion.  He  not  only  frees  from  the  penalty  of  the 
law,  but  he  makes  holy.  There  is,  therefore,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  gospel,  no  such  thing  as  sarictifica- 
ion,  without  or  before  justification.  Those  who 


HOLY  LIVING 


are  out  of  Christ  are  under  the  power,  as  well  as 
under  the  condemnation  of  sin.  And  those  who 
are  in  Christ  are  not  only  free  from  condemnation, 
but  are  also  delivered  from  the  dominion  of  sin. 

The  nature  of  the  union  between  Christ  and  his 
people,  on  which  so  much  depends,  is  confessedly 
mysterious.  Paul  having  said.  We  are  members 
of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones,  imme¬ 
diately  adds.  This  is  a  great  mystery.*  It  is  in 
vain,  therefore,  to  attempt  to  bring  this  subject 
down  to  the  level  of  our  comprehension.  The 
mode  in  which  God  is  present  and  operates  through¬ 
out  the  universe,  is  to  us  an  impenetrable  secret,  j 
We  cannot  even  understand  how  our  own  souls  are 
present  and  operate  in  the  bodies  which  they  \ 
occupy.  We  need  not,  then,  expect  to  compre-  |  2^ 
hend  the  mode  in  which  Christ  dwells  by  his  Spirit  J 
in  the  hearts  of  his  people.  The  fact  that  such 
union  exists  is  clearly  revealed ;  its  effects  are 
explicitly  stated,  and  its  nature  is  set  forth  as  far  as 
it  can  be  made  known  by  the  most  striking  illustra¬ 
tions.  In  his  intercessory  prayer,  our  Saviour  said, 

I  pray  —  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou  Father 
art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in 
us.  —  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
made  perfect  in  oiie.t  He  that  keepeth  his  com- 

•  Eph.  V.  32.  -j-  John  xvii.  21 — 23. 

28 


HOLY  LIVING. 


mandinents,  says  the  apostle,  dwelleth  in  him,  and 
he  in  him  ;  and  hereby  we  know  that  he  abideth  in 
118,  by  the  Spirit,  which  he  hath  given  us.*  If  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of 
his,  but  if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body,  (adds the 
apostle,)  may  die,  but  the  soul  shall  live.t  Know 
ye  not,  asks  Paul,  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have 
of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own?|  And  to  the 
same  effect,  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of 
God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?§ 
'I'he  Scriptures  are  filled  with  this  doctrine 
The  great  promise  of  the  Old  Testament  in  con¬ 
nexion  with  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  was,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  should  then  be  abundantly  communi¬ 
cated  to  men.  Christ  is  said  to  have  redeemed  us 
in  order  that  we  might  receive  this  promised  Spirit  [I 
And  the  only  evidence  of  a  participation  of  the 
benefits  of  redemption,  recognized  by  the  apostles, 
was  the  participation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  manifest¬ 
ing  itself  either  in  the  extraordinary  powers  which 
he  then  communicated,  or  in  those  lovely  fruits  of 
holiness  which  never  fail  to  mark  his  presence 
The  effects  ascribed  to  this  union,  as  already 

f  Rom.  tiii.  9 — 11 
§  1  Cor.  iii,  16 
j  Gal.  iii.  13,  14. 


•  1  John  iii.  24. 
^  1  Cor  vi  19. 


HOLY  LIVING. 


327 


stated,  are  an  interest  m  the  merits  of  Christ,  in 
order  to  our  justification,  and  the  indwelling  of 
his  Spirit  in  order  to  our  sanctification.  Its  nature 
is  variously  illustrated.  It  is  compared  to  that 
union  which  subsists  between  a  representative  and 
those  for  whom  he  acts.  In  this  view  Adam  is  said 
to  be  like  Christ  and  Christ  is  said  to  be  the  second 
Adam  ;  for  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all 
be  made  alive.  This  idea  is  also  presented  when¬ 
ever  Christ  is  said  to  have  died  for  his  sheep,  or  in 
their  place  ;  or  when  they  are  said  to  have  died 
with  him,  his  death  being  virtually  their  death, 
satisfying  in  their  behalf  the  demands  of  justice 
and  redeeming  them  from  the  curse  of  the  law.  It 
is  compared  to  the  union  between  the  head  and 
members  of  the  same  body.  The  meaning  of  this 
illustration  is  by  no  means  exhausted  by  saying 
that  Christ  governs  his  people,  or  that  there  is  a 
community  of  feeling  and  interest  between  them. 
The  main  idea  is  that  there  is  a  community  of  life ; 
that  the  same  Spirit  dwells  in  him  and  in  them. 
As  the  body  is  every  where  animated  by  one  soul, 
which  makes  it  one  and  communicates  a  common 
life  to  all  its  parts  ;  so  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  dwells 
in  Christ,  is  by  him  communicated  to  all  his  people, 
and  makes  them  in  a  peculiar  sense,  one  with  him 
and  one  among  themselves,  and  imparts  to  all,  tha’ 


328 


HOLY  LIVING. 


life  which  has  its  seat  and  source  in  him.  As  the 
body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all  the 
members  of  that  one  body,  being  many  are  one 
body ;  so  also  is  Christ,  for  by  one  Spirit  are  we 
all  baptized  into  one  body — and  have  all  been  made 
to  drink  into  one  Spirit.*  Another  illustration,  but 
of  the  same  import,  is  employed  by  Christ,  when 
he  says,  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches  ;  he 
that  abided  in  me  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit ;  for  Muthout  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
As  the  branches  are  so  united  to  the  vine  as  to  par¬ 
take  of  its  life  and  to  be  absolutely  dependent  upon 
it,  so  believers  are  so  united  to  Christ  as  to  partake 
of  his  life  and  to  be  absolutely  dependent  on  him. 
The  Holy  Spirit  communicated  by  him  to  them,  is, 
in  them,  the  principle  of  life  ar  d  fruitfulness. 

Christ  and  his  people  are  one.  He  is  the  foun- 

■ .  mut. 

dation,  they  are  the  building.  He  is  the  vine, 
they  are  the  branches.  He  is  the  head,  they  are 
the  body.  Because  he  lives,  they  shall  live  also  ; 
for  it  is  not  they  that  live,  but  Christ^  that  liveth  in 
jhem.  The  Holy  Spirit,  concerning  which  he  said 
to  his  disciples.  He  dwelleth  with  you  and  shall  be 
in  you,  is  to  them  not  only  the  source  of  spiritual 
life  but  of  all  its  manifestations.  They  are  bap  ized 


•  1  Cor.  xii.  12,  13. 


HOLY  LIVING. 


329 


by  the  Spirit;^  they  are  born  of  the  Spirit;!  they 
are  called  spiritual,  because  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwells  in  them  ;■{:  whereas,  the  unregenerate  are 
called  natural,  or  sensual,  “  not  having  the  Spirit.  ’§ 
Believers  are  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  ;||  they  are  led 
by  the  Spirit;^  they  live  in  the  Spirit  they  are 
strengthened  by  the  Spirit  ;tt  they  are  filled  with 
the  Spirit.^;  By  the  Spirit  they  mortify  sin  ;§§ 
through  the  Spirit,  they  wait  for  the  hope  of  rignt- 
eousness  ;||||  they  have  access  to  God  by  the 
Spirit  they  pray  and  sing,  in  the  Spirit."^*^  The 
Spirit  is  to  them  a  source  of  knowledge,!!!  of  joy, 
of  love,  long-suffering,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance. §§§  This  doctrine  of  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  wrrsughtinto  the  texture  of  the 
Gospel  as  to  be  absolutely  essential  to  it.  It  ceases 
to  be  the  Gospel  if  we  abstract  from  it  the  great 
truth,  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  the  purchase  and 
gift  of  Christ,  is  ever  present  with  hi?  people, 
guiding  their  inward  exercises  and  outwarc^  'jondu"^! 
and  bringing  them  at  last,  without  spot  oi  Flemish, 
to  the  purity  and  blessedness  of  heaven. 


*  Luke  iii.  16. 

§  Jude.  10. 

**  Gal.  V.  25. 

§§  Rom.  viii.  13. 
•**  1  Cor.  xiv.  15. 


f  John  iii.  5. 
il  1  Cor.  vi.  11. 
f!  Eph.  iii.  16. 
ilH  Gal.  V.  5. 
ttt  Eph.  i.  17. 
§§§  Gal.  V.  22. 

2S* 


i  1  Coj  iii.  16. 
t  Rom.  viii.  14 
Eph.  V.  18. 
It  Epb.  ii.  18. 
lit  1  TVie.ss.  i.  j 


330 


HOLY  LIVING. 


The  secret  of  holy  living  lies  in  this  doctrine  of 
the  union  of  the  believer  with  Christ.  This  is  not 
only  the  ground  of  his  hope  of  pardon,  but  the 
source  of  the  strength  whereby  he  dies  onto  sm 
and  lives  unto  righteousness.  It  is  by  being  rooted 
and  grounded  in  Christ  that  he  is  strengthened  with 
might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man,  and  is  enabled  to 
comprehend  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth  and 
heigth  of  the  mystery  of  redemption  and  to  know 
the  love  of  Christ  which  passes  knowledge  and  is 
tilled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God.  It  is  this  doc¬ 
trine  which  sustains  him  under  all  his  trials,  and 
enables  him  to  triumph  over  all  his  enemies,  for  it 
is  not  he  that  lives,  but  Christ  that  lives  in  him, 
giving  him  grace  sufficient  for  his  day,  and  purify¬ 
ing  him  unto  himself,  as  one  of  his  peculiar  people 
zealous  of  good  works. 

As  union  with  Christ  is  the  source  of  spiritual 
life,  the  means  by  which  that  life  is  to  be  maintain¬ 
ed  and  promoted  are  all  related  to  this  doctrine  and 
derive  from  it  all  their  efficacy.  Thus  we  are  said 
to  be  purified  by  faith,*  to  be  sanctified  by  faith,t  to 
live  by  faith, J  to  be  saved  by  faith. §  Faith  has  this 
important  agency  because  it  is  the  bond  cf  our 
union  with  Christ.  It  not  only  gives  us  the  righi 

*  Acts  XV.  9.  f  Acts  xxvi.  If? 

t  Gal.  ii.  20*  §  Eph.  ii.  8. 


HOLY  LI  VINO. 


331 


to  plead  his  merits  for  our  justification,  but  it  makes 
us  partakers  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Christ  has  pro¬ 
mised  that  all  who  come  to  him  shall  receive  the 
water  of  life,  by  which  the  apostle  tells  us  is  meant 
•the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  by  faith,  and  in  the  persua¬ 
sion  of  our  consequent  union  with  Christ,  that  we 
have  confidence  to  draw  near  to  God  and  to  open 
our  souls  to  the  sanctifying  influence  of  his  love. 
It  is  by  faith  that  we  receive  of  his  fulness  and 
grace  for  grace.  It  is  by  faith  that  we  look  to  him  for 
strength  to  overcome  temptations  and  to  discharge 
our  duties.  It  is  by  faith  that  we  receive  those  ex¬ 
ceeding  great  and  precious  promises,  whereby  we 
are  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature. 

All  Christians  know  from  experience  that  faith 
in  Christ  is  the  source  of  their  holiness  and  peace. 
When  beset  with  temptations  to  despondency  or 
sin,  if  they  look  to  him  for  support,  they  are  con¬ 
scious  of  a  strength  to  resist,  or  to  endure,  which 
no  effort  of  will  and  no  influence  of  motives  ever 
could  impart.  When  they  draw  near  to  God  as  the 
members  of  Christ,  they  have  freedom  of  access 
and  experience  a  joy  which  is  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  When  pressed  down  by  afflictions  if 
they  remember  that  they  are  one  with  him  who 
suffered  for  them,  leaving  them  an  example,  they 
rejoice  in  their  tribulations,  knowing  that  if  fiiey 
ouffei  they  shal’  also  reign  with  him. 


332 


HOLY  LIVING 


Moreover,  as  in  virtue  of  union  with  Christ  we 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  source  of  spiritual 
life,  to  maintain  that  life  we  must  avoid  every  thing 
which  may  provoke  the  Spirit  to  withdraw  from  us. 
The  Bible  teaches  us  that  the  Spirit  may  be  grieved  ; 
that  his  influences  may  be  quenched  ;  that  God,  in 
judgment,  often  withdraws  them  from  those  who  thus 
offend.  Evil  thoughts,  unholy  tempers,  acts  of 
transgression  are  to  be  avoided  not  merely  as  sins, 
but  as  offences  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  must 
remember  that  to  defile  the  soul  with  sin,  or  the  body 
by  intemperance  or  impurity,  is  sacrilege,  because 
we  are  the  members  of  Christ  and  our  bodies  the 
temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  On  the  other  hand, 
right  thoughts,  just  purposes,  holy  desires  are  to  be 
cherished,  not  only  as  right  in  themselves,  but  as 
proceeding  from  that  heavenly  agent  on  whom  we 
are  dependent  for  sanctification. 

This  is  a  very  different  thing  from  opposing  sin 
and  cultivating  right  feelings  on  mere  moral  con¬ 
siderations,  and  in  dependence  on  our  own  strength. 
This  may  be  what  the  world  calls  morality,  but  it 
is  not  what  the  Bible  calls  religion.  ‘  Such  consid¬ 
erations  ought  to  have  and  ever  will  have,  with  the 
Christian,  their  due  weight ;  but  they  are  not  his 
dependence  in  his  efforts  to  become  holy,  nor  is  his 
reliance  upon  his  own  resources.  The  life  which 
he  leads  is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ:  and  it  is  by 


HOLY  LIVING. 


333 


constant  inference  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  depen¬ 
dence  on  him  that  that  life  is  maintained.  For  it  is 
as  inconsistent  with  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  to 
suppose  that  we  can  make  ourselves  holy  by  our 
own  strength,  as  that  we  can  be  justified  by  our 
own  works. 

It  is  principally  through  the  efficacy  of  prayer 
that  we  receive  the  communications  of  the  Holy 
^pirit.  Prayer  is  no^a  mere  instinct  of  a  depend¬ 
ent  nature,  seeking  help  from  the  author  of  its  being ;  • 
nor  is  it  to  be  viewed  simply  as  a  natural  expression 
of  fahh  and  d^ire,  or  as  a  rnode  of  communion 
with  the  Father  of  our  spirits  ;  but  it  js  also  to  be 
regarded  as  the  appointed  means  of  obtaining  the 
If^ye  being  evil,  know  how  to  giv^ 
unto  your  children ;  l^w  much  more 
shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
him.  Hence  we  are  urged  to  be 
constant  and  importunate  in  prayer,  praying  espe¬ 
cially  for  those  communic^ions  of  divine  influence 
by  which  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  is  maintained 
and  promoted. 

The  doctrine  that  the  Holy  Spirit  works  in  the 
people  of  God  both  to  will  and  to  do  according  to 
his  own  good  pleasure,  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
diligent  use  of  all  rational  and  scriptural  means,  on 
our  part,  to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  Far  though  the  mode  of  the  Spirit’s  influ- 


334 


HOLY  LIVING 


ence  is  inscrutable,  it  is  still  the  influence  of  s 
rational  being  on  a  rational  subject.  It  is  described 
as  an  enlightening,  teaching,  persuading  process 
all  which  terms  suppose  a  rational  subject  rationally 
affected.  The  indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  therefore, 
in  the  people  of  God,  does  not  supersede  their  own 
agency.  He  acts  by  leading  them  to  act.  Thus 
we  are  commanded  to  do,  and  in  fact  must  do,  what 
he  is  said  to  do  for  us.  We  believe,  though  faith 
is  of  the  operation  of  God ;  we  repent,  though 
repentance  is  the  gift  of  Christ ;  we  love,  though 
love,  gentleness,  goodness  and  all  other  graces  are 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  The  work  of  sanctification 
is  carried  on  by  our  being  thus  led  under  this 
divine  influence  to  exercise  right  dispositions  and 
feelings  For  the  law  of  our  nature,  which  con¬ 
nects  an  increase  of  strength  with  the  repeated 
exercise  of  any  of  our  powers,  is  not  suspended 
with  regard  to  the  holy  disposition  of  the  renewed 
soul.  Philosophers  say  that  the  vibrations  imparted 
to  the  atmosphere  by  the  utterance  of  a  word  never 
cease.  Ho  \ever  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  every 
pious  emotiov  strengthens  the  principle  of  piety, 
and  leaves  the  s  'ul  permanently  better.  The  good 
aerived  from  that  influence,  or  from  those  services 
which  call  our  love,  faith,  or  gratitude  into  exercise, 
is  not  transient  as  the  exercises  themselves.  Far 
from  it.  One  hour's  communion  with  God  pro- 


holy  living. 


335 


Juces  an  impression  never  to  be  effaced;  it  renders 
the  soul  for  ever  less  susceptible  of  evil  and  more 
susceptible  of  good.  And  as  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
ever  exciting  the  soul  to  the  exercise  of  holiness, 
and  bringing  it  into  communion  with  God,  he  thus 
renders  it  more  and  more  holy,  and  better  fitted  for 
the  unchanging  and  perfect  holiness  of  heaven. 

It  is  principally  by  the  contemplation  of  the 
truth,  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  discharge  of 
duty  that  these  holy  exercises  are  called  into  being 
All  thought  and  affection  suppose  an  object  on 
whitjh  they  terminate,  and  which,  when  presented, 
tends  to  call  them  forth.  We  cannot  fear  God 
unless  his  holiness  and  power  be  present  to  the 
mind ;  we  cannot  love  him  except  in  view  of  his 
excellence  and  goodness  ;  we  cannot  believe,  except 
in  contemplation  of  his  word,  nor  hope,  unless  in 
view  of  his  promises.  As  these  affections  sup¬ 
pose  their  appropriate  objects,  so  these  objects 
tend  to  excite  the  affections.  Were  it  not  for  our 
depravity,  they  never  could  be  brought  into  view 
ivithout  the  corresponding  affection  rising  to  meet 
them.  And  notwithstanding  our  depravity,  their 
tendency,  resulting  from  their  inheient  nature, 
remains,  and  as  that  depravity  is  corrected  or  re¬ 
moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  these  objects  exert  on 
the  soul  their  Appropriate  influence.  We  are 


336 


HOLY  LIVING. 


therefore,  s-aid  to  be  sanctified  by  the  truth  ;  *  to  be 
made  clean  through  the  word  of  Christ  ;t  to  be 
born  again  by  the  word  of  truth  5  iji  to  be  changed 
into  the  image  of  God  by  beholding  his  glory  .§ 

It  is  most  unreasonable  to  expect  to  be  conformed 
to  the  image  of  God,  unless  the  truth  concerning 
God  be  made  to  operate  often  and  continuously 
upon  the  mind.  How  can  a  heart  that  is  filled  with 
the  thoughts  and  cares  of  the  world,  and  especially 
one  which  is  often  moved  to  evil  by  the  thoughts  or 
sight  of  sin,  expect  that  the  affections  which  answer 
to  the  holiness,  goodness  or  greatness  of  God  should 
gather  strength  within  it?  How  can  the  love  of 
Christ  increase  in  the  bosoms  of  those  who  hardly 
ever  think  of  h^  or  of  his  wk  ?  This  cannot  be 
without  a  change  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  and, 
therefore,  we  cannot  make  progress  in  holiness 
unless  we  devote  much  time  to  the  reading,  and 
hearing,  and  meditating  upon  the  word  of  God, 
which  is  the  truth  whereby  we  are  sanctified.  The 
more  this  truth  is  brought  before  the  mind  ;  the  more 
we  commune  with  it,  entering  into  its  import,  apply¬ 
ing  it  to  our  own  case,  appropriating  its  principles, 
appreciating  its  motives,  rejoicing  in  its  promises, 
trembling  at  its  threatenings,  rising  by  its  influence 

I  I  1.^^  —  I  ■■■■■ 


*  John  xvii.  19 
i  James  i.  18. 


John  XV.  3. 

§  2  Cor.  iiL  18, 


HOLY  LIVING 


33? 


from  what  is  seen  and  temporal  to  what  is  unseen 
and  ejernal ;  the  more  may  we  expect  to  be  trans¬ 
formed  by  the  renewing  of  our  mind  so  as  to  ap. 
prove  and  love  whatever  i£  holy,  just  and  good. 
Men  distinguished  for  their  pjety  have  ever  been 
men  of  meditation  as  well  as  men  of  prayer  5  men 
accustomed  to  withdraw  the  mind  from  the  influ- 
eime  of  the  worM  with  its  thousand  joys  and 
sorrows,  and  to  ^ng  it  under  the  influence  of  the 
doctrines,  precepts  and  promises  of  the  word  of 
God. 

Besides  the  contemplation  of  the  truth,  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  God  is  an  important  means  of  growing  in 
grace.  It  not  only  includes  the  exercise  and  ex¬ 
pression  of  all  pious  feelings,  which  are  necessarily 
strengthened  by  the  exercise,  but  it  is  the  appointed 
means  of  holding  communion  with  God  and  re¬ 
ceiving  the  communications  of  his  grace.  They 
that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength  ; 
they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  they 
shall  walk  and  not  be  weary,  they  shall  run  and 
not  faint.  Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  thy  house  ^ 
they  shall  be  still  praising  thee.  They  shall  go 
from  strength  to  strength,  till  they  appear  before 
God  in  Zion.  This  is  a  matter  of  experience  as 
well  as  revelation.  The  people  of  God  have  e  er 
found  in  the  private,  social  and  public  worship  of 
the  Father  of  their  spirits,  the  chief  means  of  re 

29 


338 


HOLY  LIVING. 


newing  their  spiritual  strength.  The  sanctuary  is 
the  temple  of  God  on  earth  whose  services  are  pre- 
paratory  to  those  of  the  temple  not  made  with 
hands  eternal  in  the  heavens.  It  here  too  that 
the  sacraments,  as  means  of  grace,  have  their  ap¬ 
propriate  place.  They  are  to  us  what  the  sacri¬ 
fices  and  rites  of  the  old  dispensation  were  to  the 
Israelites.  They  exhibit  and  seal  the  truth  and 
promises  of  God,  and  convey  to  those  who  wor¬ 
thily  receive  them  the  blessings  which  they  repre¬ 
sent.  The  Christian,  therefore,  who  is  desirous  of 
increasing  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  will 
be  a  faithful  attendant  on  all  the  appointed  forms 
and  occasions  of  divine  worship.  He  will  be  much 
in  his  closet,  he  will  be  punctual  in  the  sanctuary 
and  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  He  will  seek  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  fellowship  with  God,  as  a  friend  seeks 
intercourse  with  his  friend ;  and  the  more  he  can 
enjoy  of  this  communion,  the  better  will  he  be  pre¬ 
pared  for  that  perfect  fellowship  with  the  Father  of 
lights  which  constitutes  the  blessedness  of  heaven. 

Finally,  to  be  good,  we  must  do  good.  It  has 
been  falsely  said  that  action  is  the  whole  of  oratory, 
and  as  falsely  supposed  that  action  is  the  whole  of 
religion.  There  is  no  eloquence  in  action  except  as 
it  i'  expressive  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  there  is 
no  religion  in  outward  acts  except  as  they  are  in¬ 
formed  and  guided  by  a  pious  spirit.  It  is  only  by 


HOLY  LIVING. 


339 


maintaining  such  a  spirit  that  external  works  can 
have  any  significance  or  value.  It  is  perhaps  one 
of  the  evil  tendencies  of  our  age,  to  push  religion 
out  of  doors  ;  to  allow  her  no  home  but  the  street  or 
public  assembly;  to  withhold  from  her  all  food 
except  the  excitement  of  loud  professions  and  ex¬ 
ternal  manifestations.  This  is  to  destroy  her  power. 
It  is  to  cut  her  off  from  the  source  of  her  strength 

1  to  ^ 

and  to  transform  the  meek  and  holy  visiter  from 
heaven,  into  the  noisy  and  bustling  inhabitant  of  the 
earth.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  be  religious  outwardly 
than  inwardly ;  to  be  active  in  church  duties,  than 
to  keep  the  heart  with  all  diligence,  that  we  are  in 
danger  of  preferring  the  form  of  religion  to  its 
power.  The  same  love  of  excitement  and  desire 
to  be  busy  which  make  men  active  in  worldly  pur¬ 
suits  may,  without  changing  their  character,  make 
them  active  in  religious  exercises.  But  if  there  is 
danger  on  this  side,  there  is  quite  as  much  on  the 
other.  Although  religior  does  not  consist  in  out¬ 
ward  acts,  it  always  produces  them.  W^hosoever 
hath  this  world’s  good,  and  seeth  his  brother  have 
need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion 
from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?* 
The  love  of  God  can  no  more  fail  to  produce  obe¬ 
dience  to  his  commands,  than  a  mother’s  love  can 


*  1  John  iii.  17. 


340 


HOLY  LIVING. 


fail  to  produce  watchfulness  and  care  for  her  infant 
That  man’s  religion,  therefore,  is  vain  which  ex¬ 
pends  itself  in  exercises  that  relate  exclusively 
to  his  own  salvation.  And  doubtless  many  Chris¬ 
tians  go  halting  all  their  days,  because  they  confine 
their  attention  too  much  to  themselves.  It  is  only 
by  the  harmonious  exercise  of  all  the  graces,  of 
faith  and  love  towards  God,  and  of  justice  and 
benevolence  towards  men,  that  the  health  of  the 
soul  can  be  maintained  or  promoted.  It  is  not 
merely  because  the  exercise  of  benevolence  strength¬ 
ens  the  principle  of  benevolence  that  doing  good 
tends  to  make  men  better;  but  God  has  ordained  that 
he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself.  He 
distils  his  grace  on  those  who  labour  for  the  tem¬ 
poral  and  spiritual  benefit  of  their  fellow  men,  and 
who  follow  the  example  of  the  blessed  Redeemer, 
Walking  with  God  while  they  go  about  doing  good. 

True  religion  as  we  find  it  described  in  the  Bible 
is  then  neither  an  external  show,  nor  a  fitful  ebulli¬ 
tion  of  feeling.  It  is  a  permanent,  spontaneous  and 
progressive  principle  of  spiritual  life,  influencing  the 
whole  man  and  producing  all  the  fruits  of  right¬ 
eousness.  It  is  not  any  one  good  disposition,  but 
the  root  and  spring  of  all  right  feelings  and  actions, 
manifesting  itself  in  love  and  obedience  towards 
God,  in  justice  and  benevolence  towards  man,  and 


HOLY  LIVING. 


341 


in  the  proper  government  of  ourselves.  This  divine 
life  can  neither  be  obtained  nor  continued  by  any 
mere  efforts  of  reason  or  conscience,  or  by  any 
superstitious  observances,  but  flows  from  our  union 
with  Christ,  who  ^uses  his  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  in 

In  order  to  promote  this  divine 
life  it  is  our  business  to  avoid  every  thing  which  has 
a  tendency  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  all  grace,  and  to 
do  every  thing  by  which  his  sacred  influence  on 
the  heart  may  be  cherished.  It  is  by  this  influence 
that  we  are  sanctified,  for  it  leads  us  to  exercise  all 
holy  dispositions  in  the  contemplation  of  the  truth, 
in  the  worship  of  God  and  in  the  discharge  of  all 
our  relative  duties. 

This  unpretending  volume,  designed  for  the  use 
of  educated  youth,  was  written  with  the  view  of 
impressing  on  its  readers  those  great  truths  of  reve¬ 
lation  which  are  immediately  connected  with  prac¬ 
tical  religion.  We  have  designed  to  convince  them 
that  all  skepticism  as  to  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  is  inexcusable,  inasmuch  as  the  Bible 
brings  with  it  its  own  credentials.  It  makes  such 
a  revelation  of  the  character  of  God,  of  the  rule  of 
duty  and  of  the  plan  of  salvation  as  challenges 
immediate  assent  and  submission  to  their  truth  and 
goodness.  It  sets  forth  the  Redeemer  as  the  Son 
of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  in  whom  the 
glory  of  God  is  so  revealed  that  those  who  refuse  to 

29* 


342 


HOLY  LIVING. 


recognise  him  as  their  God  and  Saviour  refuse,  tp 
infinite  excellence,  their  confidence  and  obedience. 
In  order  that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  the 
Bible,  thus  replete  with  evidence  of  its  divine  origin, 
is  confirmed  by  all  kinds  of  adequate  proofs  from 
miracles,  prophecy  and  history,  that  it  is,  indeed, 
the  word  of  God. 

The  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  being 
established,  the  great  question  to  be  decided  by 
every  one  by  whom  they  are  known,  is,  What  do 
they  teach  as  to  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the  rule 
of  duty  ?  It  has  been  our  design  to  aid  the  reader 
in  answering  this  question  for  himself ;  to  show 
him  that  the  Bible  teaches  that  we  are  all  sinners, 
and  that,  being  sinners,  we  have  lost  the  favour  of 
God  and  are  unable  to  effect  our  own  redemption. 
When  we  feel  that  this  is  true  wdth  regard  to  our¬ 
selves,  we  are  convinced  of  sin,  and  are  irresistibly 
led  to  ask  what  we  must  do  to  be  saved.  In  an¬ 
swer  to  this  question  the  Scriptures  set  forth  Jesus 
Christ  as  born  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law, 
satisfying  its  demands,  dying  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
rising  again  from  the  dead,  and  ascending  up  on 
h’gh,  where  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
us.  They  teach  us  that  it  is  not  for  any  thing  done 
or  experienced  by  us,  but  solely  for  what  Christ 
has  done  for  us,  that  we  are  justified  in  the  sight 
of  God;  and  that  in  order  to  our  being  sailed 


W  >LV  LIVING. 


343 


through  Christ,  we  must  accept  him  as  our  Saviour, 
not  goiuj.  about  to  establish  our  own  righteousness, 
but  submitting  to  the  righteousness  of  God.  Those 
who  thus  believe,  do,  at  the  same  time  repent ;  that 
is,  they  turn  from  sin  unto  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ.  They  are  now  his  followers,  and  declare 
themselves  to  be  such  by  confessing  him  before  the 
world  and  by  devoutly  attending  upon  those  ordin¬ 
ances  which  he  has  appointed  to  be  means  of  ac¬ 
knowledging  our  allegiance  to  him,  and  of  com¬ 
municating  his  grace  to  The  Scriptures  further 
teach  that  our  work  is  but  begun  when  we  have 
thus  renounced  the  world  and  joined  ourselves  unto 
the  Lord.  The  spiritual  life  commenced  in  regene¬ 
ration  is  carried  on  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dwells 
in  all  the  people  of  God,  by  teaching  them  to  look 
to  Jesus  Christ,  as  their  living  head,  for  all  those 
supplies  of  grace  and  all  that  protection  which  their 
circumstances  require.  They  are  tfms  washed, 
sanctified  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,  and  being 
tnade  meet  £or  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light, 
they  will  be  at  last  admitted  into  God’s  blissful 
presence  and  enjoy  the  fuU  communications  of  his 
grace  and  love  for  ever  and  ever. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


Aaron  as  a  priest,  161. 

Abraham,  Christ  and,  38,  42 ;  faith 
of,  205,  279;  justification  of,  148, 
273. 

Action,  eloquence  in,  338. 

Adam,  fall  of,  53,  56,  67,  71, 169, 232. 
Affections,  social,  60,  310-14. 
Allegiance,  civil,  249,  253,  277. 
Alms-giving,  245,  339. 

Altar,  Jewish,  216. 

Ancient  sacrifices,  280. 

Animal  lifej  295,  302. 

Apocryphal  writings,  16. 

Apootasy  of  man,  67,  71,  96,  238. 
Apostles,  preaching  of,  27. 

Ascetics,  religion  of,  131. 

Atheism,  a  crime,  24.  See  Unbelief. 
Atonement  under  the  law,  170, 216. 
Augsburg  Confession,  31. 

Augustin,  confessions  of,  115. 

Backsliding,  297, 

Bacon,  Francis,  197. 

Baptism,  duty  of,  248,  255-60,  262- 
89. 

Belief,  foundations  of,  197 ;  laws  of, 
97,  99. 

Believers,  union  of  Christ  with,  169, 
193,  325-32,  341. 

Benevolence,  duty  of,  340. 

Bible,  divine  origin  of,  3,  4;  faith 
in,  12 ;  intellectual  characteris¬ 
tics  of,  14,  15  ;  teaching  of,  106. 
Birth,  the  new,  295,  299,  300,  308, 
321. 

Blind,  colours  and  the,  197. 

Blood,  a  means  of  atonement,  170. 
Body,  disease  of  the,  320 ;  and  soul 
92. 

Bondage,  spirit  of,  200. 

Born  in  sin,  100. 

344 


Gavils,  101,  102,  109,  110.  See 
Skepticism. 

Ceremonial  observances,  294,  322. 

Change  of  heart,  293,  296,  321, 
336. 

Character,  how  formed,  85;  moral, 
21;  value  of,  17. 

Children  of  God,  101, 

Christ,  advocate,  235. 
ashamed  of,  253. 
authority  of,  251. 
character  of,  18,  19,  21,  22, 
24,  29,  30,  36. 
confession  of,  248,  249. 
cross  of,  170-75, 186. 
curse  for  us,  213. 
death  of,  133,  241. 
devotion  of,  305. 
divinity  of,  69, 173,  254. 
doctrines  of,  18,  19. 
example  of,  340. 
excellence  of,  342. 
faith  in,  331. 
glory  of,  206. 
humanity  of,  70, 173,  206. 
intercession  of,  206,  211,  342. 
justification  through,  15^ 
153, 156, 159,  160,  208. 

Lord  our  righteousness  212. 
love  of,  307,  311,  336. 
mediation  of,  234. 
miracles  of,  10. 
obedience  to,  281. 
preaching  of,  242. 
predictions  concerning,  37- 
50. 

priesthood  of,  172-75, 211, 216. 
propitiation,  181,  187,  210, 
212,  238,  254,  284,  318,  342. 
ransom,  212. 
refuge,  214. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


345 


Christ,  rejection  of,  77, 128, 189, 191, 
193,  254. 

righteousness  of,  176-79. 
sacrifice,  79. 
sanctification,  324,  341. 
Saviour  of  sinners,  341. 

Son  of  God,  341. 

Spirit  of,  325,  326. 
spiritual  head,  169. 
union  of,  with  believers,  169, 
193,  325-29,  341. 
vicarious  sufferings  of,  170, 
171,  206,  208,  209,  218. 
vine,  189,  328. 
work  of,  193, 

Christian  virtues,  132. 

Christianity,  faith  in,  13. 

Church,  the,  a  family,  249;  confes¬ 
sion  to  the,  228;  history  of  the, 
31,  33,  34,  35  ;  organization  of  the, 
251 ;  testimony  of  the,  31,  33,  34, 

35. 

Church  of  England,  testimony  of 

36. 

Church,  Lutheran,  testimony  of 
the,  31. 

Circumcision,  269,  271,  275,  279 
280. 

Cities  of  refuge,  214. 

Citizenship,  249. 

Classification  of  knowledge,  90. 
Colours  and  the  blind,  197. 
Concealment  of  religion,  246. 
Consistency,  340. 

Condemned,  who  are,  194. 
Confession  of  Christ,  246,  272,  274 ; 

of  sin,  142, 143,  224,  226,  227. 
Conflict,  the  Christian,  .312. 
Conscience,  as  a  guide,  199;  awak¬ 
ened,  52,  80-85,  103, 104, 110,  111, 
120,  124-26,  144, 158, 179, 192, 199, 
204,  210,  215,  221,  230,  236,  237, 
239;  neglect  of,  52,  54,  74,  75,  77, 
78,  80. 

Consciousness,  92-94,  97,  101,  102, 
113, 193,  204. 

Consistency,  Christian,  302,  307. 
Conversion  of  heart,  210,  223,  239- 
41,  293. 

Conviction  of  sin,  106-34,  221. 
Corinthians,  described,  249. 
Cornelius,  baptism  of,  272,  273. 

Cross  of  Christ,  170-75. 

Curse  for  us,  213. 

Curse  of  the  law,  157,  158,  213. 

Daniel,  cited,  224,  230. 


David,  faith  of,  201;  house  of,  46; 

repentance  of,  220-22,  227,  233. 
Day  of  .Judgment,  65. 

Deaf,  sounds  and  the,  197. 

Death,  eternal,  103;  sentence  of, 
106 :  sinritual,  315 ;  the  penalty 
of  sin,  64,  156. 

Declension,  spiritual,  297. 

Deed,  conveyance  by,  275. 

Delay,  dangers  of,  104. 

Depravity,  335. 

Design,  evidences  of,  90. 

Despair,  120,  231,  232. 

Diseases  of  the  body,  320. 
Dispensation,  typical,  174. 

Domestic  relations,  179. 

Drunkard,  folly  of  the.  75. 


Earth,  revolution  of  the,  196. 
Enthusiasm,  21. 

Eunuch,  baptism  of  the,  272. 
Ephesus,  elders  of,  242. 

Esau,  cited,  219. 

Eternal  life,  191, 193, 194,  206,  209, 
213,  315. 

Evidence,  office  of,  10, 16,  89-91,  97, 


Evangelical  hope,  235,  237. 

Evil,  existence  of,  95. 

Excitement,  religious,  294,  339. 
Experience,  religious,  5,  6, 
External  religion,  294,  299,  322,  323, 
339. 

Ezra,  prayers  of,  224,  227,  230. 


Faith,  duty,  effects,  necessity,  and 
office  of,  4,  9-30,  50-52,  90,  99, 150, 
185-218.  267,  331. 

Fall,  effects  of  the,  53,  56,  67,  73, 
312. 


Fear,  not  desirable,  222. 

Felix  trembles,  109,  199. 

Filial  love,  179,  249,  253,  297. 

Filial  obedience,  179,  241,  297. 

Free  agency,  86,  90,  93. 

Fruits  of  holiness,  296. 

Fruits  meet  for  repentance,  240. 
Fruits  of  the  Spirit.  See  Holt 
Spirit. 


Galatians,  Paul  to  the,  153,  154. 
Gentiles,  the,  183,  194. 

God,  attributes  of,  196. 
authority  of,  99. 
benevolence  of,  90. 
children  of,  101. 
compassion  of,  238. 


S46 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


God,  existence  of,  24,  78,  95, 196. 
excellence  of,  112,  237,  304, 
335. 

favour  of,  271.  • 
forgiveness  of,  237-9. 
glory  of,  180. 

goodness  of,  90,  95,  102,  233, 
304,  305,  326. 
grace  of,  181, 183. 
holiness  of,  107, 182,  199,  223, 
226,  231,  236,  239,  335. 
incomprehensibility  of,  94. 
invitations  of,  220,  237. 
jiistice  of,  119,  120,  122, 123, 
184, 199,  205,  221,  231,  235, 
236,  238,  239. 
law  of.  111,  112. 
long-suffering  of,  238. 
love  of,  75, 123,  183,  184, 187, 
235,  238,  243. 

mercy  of,  103,  104,  119,  120, 
122,  123,  184,  186,  232,  233, 
236-38,  240. 
oath  of,  237. 
pardon  of,  238. 

perfections  of,  180,  189,  205, 
304. 

power  of,  335. 
presence  of,  319 
promises  of,  205,  220,  223,  237. 
providence  of,  319. 
purity  of,  223,  236. 
righteousness  of,  103. 
sovereignty  of,  88,  216. 
threatenings  of,  205. 
wisdom  of,  102, 180. 
works  of,  14,  15,  31. 
worship  of,  337. 
wrath  of,  103, 106, 115. 

Good  works,  126, 133,  137,  339,  340. 
Goodness,  21,  184. 

Gospel,  the,  164. 

Governments,  human,  62,  67. 
Graces,  Christian,  131. 

Grieving  the  Spirit,  78,  84,  323,  332. 
Growth,  Christian,  297,  298, 302, 316, 
330,  334,  337,  343. 

Heart,  change  of,  239-41 ;  its  esti¬ 
mate  of  truth,  9;  hardened  by 
neglect  of  God,  105. 

Heathen,  state  of  the,  31,  137. 
Heaven,  efforts  to  gain,  125. 
Hebrews,  Epistle  to  the,  163, 165. 
High-priest,  Jewish,  216. 

Hindoos,  temples  of  the,  125. 
Holiness,  essential,  315,  317;  fruit 


I  of  truth.  3;  and  faith,  188;  and 

I  truth,  180. 

Holiness  of  the  Bible,  16. 

Holy  living,  293-343. 

Holy  Spirit,  fruits  of  the,  132,  151, 
200-3,  215,  268,  284,  295,  307,  314, 
323,  328-36,  343;  grieving  the,  77, 
78,  80,  84,  86,  323,  332;  influence 
of  the,  58,  79,  129,  133,  188,  218, 
260,  267 ;  testimony  of  the,  171. 

Hope,  evangelical,  235,  237. 

Hu'iuin  goodness,  22,  184. 

Human  nature,  23,  53,  224,  241. 

Humility,  225,  239. 

Hypocrisy,  246. 


Ignorance,  88,  89,  91,  100, 107,  110, 
111,  124,  236,  284,  287. 

Inability  to  repent,  101, 102. 
Infancy,  293. 

Infidelity,  50,  99. 

Israel,  exhortations  to,  82. 


Jailor,  the,  194. 

Jews,  character  of,  23;  history  of, 
37,  46;  ignorant  of  God’s  right¬ 
eousness,  177 ;  reject  Christ,  212. 
Job,  cited,  221. 

Joy,  spiritual,  297,  307,  331. 

Judas,  repentance  of,  222,  230,  235. 
Judgment,  Day  of,  65. 

Judgment  and  fiery  indignation, 
217. 

Judgments,  moral,  92, 197. 

Justice  satisfied  through  the  cross, 
186. 


Justification  of  the  sinner,  123, 126, 
135-90,  192;  not  by  works,  140, 
144-90,  204. 


Knowledge,  limits  of,  100 ;  progress 
in,  90. 

Koran,  faith  in,  13. 


Language,  ambiguity  of,  195,  230. 

Law,  human,  143^. 

Law  of  God,  bondage  of  the,  188; 
condemnation  of  the,  226;  de¬ 
mands  of  the,  226;  justification 
not  by  the,  140, 141, 155, 192 ;  obe¬ 
dience  to  the,  192;  penalty  of  the, 
122;  righteousness  of  the,  208, 
spirituality  of  the,  111;  strict¬ 
ness  of  the,  236;  truthfulness  of 
the,  109. 

Laws  of  our  being,  93. 

Lawgiver,  the  divine,  62. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


347 


Legal  spirit,  324. 

Liberty,  moral,  87. 

Life  eternal,  191,  193, 194,  206,  209, 
213,  315. 

Lord’s  supper,  255,  261-92. 

Love,  various  kinds  of,  195 ;  to  God, 
73,  206,  223,  303-7  ;  to  our  neigh¬ 
bour,  309. 

Luther,  age  of.  31;  convictions  of 
115. 

Lutheran  Church,  testimony  of,  31. 

M.\riner,  the  shipwrecked,  238. 

Marriage  contract,  280. 

Maternal  love,  249  293. 

Means,use  of,  87  ;  of  sanctification, 
319. 

Meditation,  importance  of,  336. 

Melchizedek,  priesthood  of,  172. 

Merit,  human,  184,  186. 

Messiah,  the,  163,  279,  326. 

Miracles,  as  evidence,  10,  28, 198. 

Mohammed,  character  of,  21,  22. 

Moral  character,  86,  93;  excellence, 
303,  308,  310,  313,  314, 322  ;  sense, 
11,  15 ;  evil,  72. 

Morality,  107, 126,  332. 

Moravians,  Wesley  and  the,  131. 

Mosaic  dispensation,  150,  154,  174 
ritual,  150,  280,  282. 

Moses,  faith  of,  205;  law  of,  150; 
writings  of,  150. 

Multitude  before  the  throne,  217. 


Natural  man,  the,  23,  53. 

Natural  philosophy,  88.  90,  97,  334. 

Nature,  human,  23,  53,  224,  241. 

Nehemiah,  confessions  of,  227.  229 
233. 

New  birth,  293,  295,  299,  308,  336. 

New  Testament,  age  of  the,  34. 

Newton,  Sir  I.,  19,  197. 

Obedience,  filial,  188,  2.32;  to  the 
divine  law,  176,  192,  232. 

Objections,  dishonest,  101-3. 

Old  Testament,  history  of,  37;  on 
good  works,  144,  148 ;  on  restitu¬ 
tion,  228. 

Ostentation  in  religion.  245. 

Parade  in  religion,  245. 

Parental  affection,  195;  dicipline, 
241.  ^  ■’ 

Paul,  character  of,  126,  177,  272; 
conversion  of,  201 ;  teachings  of, 
27-28,  58,  60, 109, 110, 138-58, 168, 


I  176,  201,  242,  247,  263,  269,  300, 

[Peace  through  faith,  185,  194. 
Penitent  thief,  unbaptised,  273. 
Pentecost,  day  of,  260. 

Perceptions,  various,  93. 

Perdition,  final,  105. 

Perfections,  divine,  189. 

Personal  unworthiness,  113,  114, 
117, 118. 

Peter,  confession  of,  201 ;  denial  by, 
253 ;  preaching  of,  248. 

Pharisees,  condemned,  245. 
Pharaoh,  repentance  of,  235. 
Phenomena  of  nature,  89,  92. 
Philosophy,  false,  98. 

Physical  investigations,  89,  90,  92, 
97 . 

Prayer,  the  duty  of,  252,  313,  333, 
337,  338;  fomial,  127,322;  secret, 
245. 

Preaching,  evangelical,  158,  242. 
Priesthood  of  Christ,  172. 
Procrastination  of  repentance,  104. 
Prodigal  son,  211. 

Profession  of  religion,  245-92. 
Progress,  spiritual,  297,  299,  302, 
316,  330,  333,  343. 

Prophecy,  the  ai’gument  from,  36- 
50,  198. 

Prophets,  faith  of  the,  205. 
Propitiation.  See  Christ. 
Protestant  countries,  125. 
Providence  of  God,  91,  95, 103. 
Punishment,  eternal,  64-66. 


Rainbow,  the,  262. 

Reason,  uses  of,  60,  319. 

Rebel,  guilt  of  the,  67,  73. 
Redemption,  mystery  of,  68, 157-64, 
170,  180,  189,  192,'  211,  223,  244, 
318,  326,  330,  342. 

Reformers,  the,  31,  33. 

Refuge,  cities  of,  214. 

Regeneration,  spiritual,  58, 129, 132, 
273,  293,  295,  300. 

Religion,  profession  of,  245-92. 
Remorse,  115-17,  128,  222,  230,  2.32. 
Repentance,  104,  144,  219-44. 
Responsibility  to  God,  100,  101 
Restitution,  228,  240. 

Resurrection,  the,  317. 

Revelation,  evidence  of  a,  99. 
Righteousness,  man’s,  176,  .342; 
hungering  after,  207;  original. 
59;  self,  124-26;  of  Christ,  176. 
Romans,  Paul  to  the,  154. 


348 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


Sabbath,  observance  of  the,  277. 

Sacraments,  the,  255-92. 

Sacred  writers,  the,  36, 180, 182. 

Sacrifice.  See  Christ. 

Sacrifices,  doctrine  of,  161,  166,  280 

Saints,  character  of,  250. 

Salvation,  holiness  essential  to,  315- 
18;  plan  of,  121;  not  by  works, 
102,  123-34, 140,  143, 149, 176,  200, 
217,  341 ;  rejection  of,  243. 

Samaria,  woman  of,  17. 

Samuel,  faith  of,  205. 

Sanctification,  300,  319,  324,  332, 
334. 

Sanctuary,  the,  338. 

S  riptural  account  of  sin,  108, 110 
112,  114. 

Scriptures,  divine  origin  of  the,  9, 
10, 12, 14-16, 28,  35, 179,  .342;  faith 
in  the,  198;  truths  taught  by  the, 
5, 184. 

Secret  discipleship,  246,  250. 

Secret  prayer.  See  Prater. 

Self-abhorrence,  207,  225. 

Self-agency,  86,  90,  93. 

Self-approbation,  86. 

Self-complacency,  226,  239. 

Self-condemnation,  86,  207,  224,  226, 
230,  239. 

Self-denial,  124, 130,  200,  310,  312. 

Self-justification,  226. 

Self-knowledge,  240. 

Self-love,  309. 

Self-restraint,  319. 

Senses,  testimony  of  the,  97. 

Serpent  lifted  up,  213. 

Simon  Magus,  faith  of,  195. 

Sin,  character  and  jirevalence  of, 
53-134,  342;  confession  of,  227; 
conviction  of,  221;  sorrow  for, 
115-18, 128.  See  also  Conscience  ; 
Remorse. 

Skepticism,  4,  22,  85,  99,  341. 

Social  virtues,  310-14. 

Solomon,  prayer  of,  220. 


I  Sophistical  objections,  85, 103. 

I  Sorrow  for  sin.  See  Conscience; 

I  Sin;  Sorrow. 

^oul,  operations  of  the,  195;  spiritu¬ 
ality  of  the,  89;  union  of  the 
body  and  the,  92. 

Sounds  and  the  deaf,  197. 

I  Sovereignty  of  God,  88,  216. 

Spirit,  Holy.  See  Holy  Spirit. 

Spiritual  regeneration,  58,  129,  132, 
272,  295,  300. 

Strivings  of  the  Spirit,  78,  84,  323, 

i  332. 

I  Submission  to  the  plan  of  salva- 

I  tion,  21. 

j 

j  Temperaments,  various,  106. 

Treason,  guilt  of,  67,  73. 

Tribulation,  glory  in,  202. 

Truth,  apiu-ehension  of,  11 ;  effects 
of,  3,  185,  204,  207 ;  evidences  of, 
97,  99,  196,  197;  excellence  of, 
200,  204 ;  power  of,  103 ;  presenta¬ 
tion  of,  284;  and  faith,  196;  and 
holiness,  3, 180. 

Typical  dispensation,  174. 

Unbelief,  199,  223 ;  a  sin,  24,  26,  29, 
30,  50,  51,  7 6,  239 ;  causes  of,  22, 
24. 

Unconverted  professors,  268,  271. 

Union  of  Christ  and  believers.  See 
Christ. 

Unworthiness,  personal,  113,  118. 

Vibrations  of  the  atmosphere,  334. 


Wesley  and  the  Moravians,  131. 
j  Wicked,  faith  of  the,  199. 

!  Word  of  God  as  a  test,  239. 
Works,  good.  See  Salvation. 
Works  of  God,  14,  31. 

World,  love  of  the,  130. 
Worship,  spiritual,  285. 

Wrath,  apprehension  of,  103. 


THE  lIBRARy  OF  THE 

AUG  H-  1934 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


1 


4' 


*  ■  1 


w*.:  •  - 


•^  *  j 


i 


/ 


A  * 

f  J.* 


■  .iV 

.  ..^ 


'  \ 


f4 


,J 


I 


'  .  ■  J 


I 


I 


«• 


t 

1 


\ 


J 


f 


■  r* 


f 


I 


y 


‘•4 


.  t 


# 


i 

1 


) 


i 


:  i,.. 


I*'. 


sV* 


‘M.  /  ‘ 


L* 


■ 


W* 


’■'V 


<• 


M.y  ■»!. 


4 


■«> 


. 


\ 


s 


•I 


■  M 

V  »* 
hr 


-t 


» 


